


Between the Seasons

by Akinasky



Series: Not Robin All the Time [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Derek is a Good Alpha, Introduction of Season 3 Characters, M/M, Pack Bonding, Pack Feels, Pack Parents, Puppy Piles, Scent Marking, Sterekbingo 2019, Vernon Boyd & Derek Hale Friendship, full moon run, mystery guest - Freeform, sterekbingo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2020-02-15 19:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18675781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akinasky/pseuds/Akinasky
Summary: Derek and Stiles are going to spend every second they can with the Pack, bonding and enjoying each other without the threat of death hanging over their heads.





	1. The Morning After The Moon

**Author's Note:**

> SterekBingo 2019 Prompts: Puppy Piles and Pack Parents
> 
> Continuation of Between the Seasons coming as soon as I finish writing the darn thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek and Stiles spend the Full Moon with everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated 11/6/2019

Derek rushed back into the clearing where Stiles, Lydia and Danny were sitting around the fire they constructed and contained. It was difficult, with how amped he was but Derek forced the beta shift away not because anyone was afraid of it but because the human wanted a turn. Derek, the man, wanted to hold Stiles and he didn’t want all the raging werewolf instincts getting in the way for a moment. All those instincts right now were yammering about putting some sort of claim on Stiles; his scent or his bite or something and there was no need for that. Stiles wasn’t going anywhere, whether that was good for him or not. Derek wasn’t going to lose him which meant there was no reason to stake his claim.

Running through the forest fed the wolf, fed the alpha in him but seeing Stiles invigorated him in a completely different way. A way that he couldn’t wait to get to know when he was given the chance. Seeing Stiles was the focus of his energy boost but he couldn’t help but preen at the knowledge that even though there was no requirement of the humans to be out here, they were.

All of them.

Danny was still getting used to the pack and Lydia wasn’t someone who was really the forest and campfire type but they were both here. Lydia was even wearing ballet flats instead of her normal ridiculous high heels.

Derek was back with his partner and his pack was all together!

_He loved this!_

There was no denying that there was pain and sadness mixing in with the exhilaration because the last time he could remember going for a run with a pack was before the fire with his family. Running with the siblings he’d grown up with and with his mother and father, all of that was very different from this. The pack he had now was completely different and a little odder than what he’d experienced before but it was good too. And a Full moon run was one of the best ways of getting to know new betas, there was no denying they were all kind of unknown to each other.

For Derek, knowing that they were safe tonight made every second a blessing that he couldn’t and wouldn’t deny. All the years did nothing to the recognition he carried of these woods either. It was still his backyard and playground and his history. Now it would be his future too. It was so good to feel like he was home for the first time since that night and the house and the fire.

Even with his intense concentration on Stiles and the others, Derek couldn’t help but look around to see how the betas were doing on this important occasion. Isaac and Jackson were tussling with each other while Erica laughed at their shenanigans but she wasn’t quite ready to jump in the middle of that, both Isaac and Jackson seemed to have a level of violence to them because of everything that happened to them and though Erica was capable of violence she didn’t seem to seek it out like the boys did. Derek was surprised and not really surprised at the same time because of the Kanima thing for Jackson and Isaac losing his father who was abusive to boot.

Erica seemed to be fitting in quite nicely and she’d done really well tonight. Allison was hanging onto Boyd’s shoulders with her legs wrapped around his waist, laughing with her hair in a wild mess around her face with twigs and grass in it from all the rolling around and tumbling through the forest floor. The second she saw Lydia, Allison dropped her legs and rushed over to the red head and grabbed her in a tight hug. Lydia laughed and wrapped her arms around Allison, hands ending up tangling gently in Allison’s hair, picking a little at the detritus she’d picked up from the run. It was like seeing his mother and sisters again. They were living on a little in Allison and Erica.

Allison and Lydia smelled happy and shy and interested, they were on the cusp between friendship and something more, hopefully they wouldn’t do anything now because Allison was kind of loopy from the run. Full moon runs with a pack can do that to wolves and he would hate to see their little family fall apart because of teenage hormones, which they had already experienced a bit because of what happened with Stiles and Scott and then also Scott and Allison while Jackson and Lydia were breaking up.

Teenagers, Derek thought with a groan.

It had been a couple years since he’d been anything close to a teenager but part of it was watching what hormones could do to people; first with Paige and then with Kate. Dr. Marcus had done a lot to help him deal with what had happened with those events. He had to live with the guilt that belonged to him but he also had to move on to be a good alpha. That’s what really mattered right now in this moment.

Erica moved over in Allison’s absence to scent mark Boyd a little who smiled shyly before ducking his head. Derek figured he was going to end up with everyone in the pack dating each other before to long though Erica did seem to be more interested in playing the field rather than actually settling into anything as conventional as dating. She seemed more than a little interested in Isaac and Jackson and even Stiles though she didn’t make a move towards him in respect for Derek and Stiles relationship. And Stiles smelled like attraction when any of the girls were around but not interest, it was a subtle but important difference. It wasn’t something that Derek had any intention of making the human feel badly about.

Derek was fine with anything as long as it didn’t tear them apart, it was an interesting dynamic that had never been an issue with a born werewolf family, people had either left the Hale Pack and garnered them friends and pacts with others or someone who came to their pack. Peter’s wife had been a transfer from another wolf pack, another born pack so she’d known all about how their pack would probably function, same with Derek’s dad.

Derek worked to push down the reverie before it took him away from this moment.  Dr. Marcus had told him more than once that having a pack wasn’t about forgetting his family, it was to celebrate them and what he was. An Alpha werewolf wasn’t something that came along every day, the power was an important part of the wolf’s world and he’d been given his mother’s and his sister’s power and he wanted to make them proud. He couldn’t do that if he was too busy ignoring what they were to him or focusing so much that he couldn’t be here now.

Derek looked around again, feeling the warmth from each of their interactions and wanted more of it. He didn’t want this full moon, the first chance for the pack to bond, to end right now. He’d missed this kind of thing after the fire, the natural endorphins and the high that was specially created by being close to family. It had been everything to him, before Paige and before Kate.

Now he had a chance to have it again.

Not the same but just as special.

Derek finally made it back to Stiles, pulling him close and scent marking him and Danny, putting a hand on Lydia’s arm just to share the scent of pack as she and Allison came close again. Others started doing the same and Danny was surprisingly open to it while Stiles leaned into it like he always did. They were all going to glom onto Noah the next time they saw him, Derek thought with a smile. Noah chose to stay out of their way tonight, staying with Echo so she wouldn’t be alone tonight. They figured that Stiles would be safe with the whole pack around him and Echo was still mending after the altercation with Kate so they were waiting another day or two before she went back on ‘active duty’ as Stiles likes to call it.

“So,” Stiles asked as everyone settled down once he was buried in their scents and closeness again in the clearing, “What’s next?”

Derek who had backed off while everyone scent marked Stiles walked over, shoving several of the betas out of the way to wrap Stiles into another hug, gently since he didn’t want to harm him and undo all the healing Stiles had been doing, “Why don’t we go to Lydia’s house, the basement has the best space for post full moon bonding, it has the biggest space and most open layout.”

Lydia nodded and they all headed to her house, Derek knew that Noah needed to know that they weren’t going to be coming back to the house so he texted while Stiles drove them in the jeep over to the Martin house. This was probably the safest place they could be right now because Lydia was basically off limits because of her human status.

Also, if anyone touched her, they were going to have to deal with Allison Argent and that wasn’t going to be good for anyone, with or without her teeth and claws. Not to mention, they weren’t all going to fit on Stiles’s bed even though it smelled like Stiles and Derek and pack. The last couple nights at least one of the other pack members had been staying in the room with them and Stiles was never alone.

Echo was surprisingly okay with letting Stiles out of her sight and though Derek felt like she should be here for the snuggles he knew they would get another chance at that. He and Stiles made the decision not to put her in the middle of an excited and full moon loopy pack of werewolves, concerned that she could get hurt either trying to keep up or getting trampled.

When they got to the Martin house, they all snuck in through the back door trying desperately to keep a lid on the full moon high all the while giggling hysterically. They went down into the basement where they met once upon a time, when things were still screwed sideways, barely hours after meeting Dr. Marcus and everything that happened. It seemed to long ago and not long enough all at once. So much had changed since that day, for all of them.

Lydia showed everyone around, telling each of the newer members who didn’t know where anything was, where to get the items they were going to need for this. Isaac and Allison and Boyd immediately started throwing every available couch cushion and pillow onto the floor in the center of the room while Lydia grabbed as many blankets and pillows from the spare room and Derek watched proudly as Isaac and Allison cuddled into the nest they made and dragged Boyd and Erica down as well. They were all so new to this and yet each of them was more than willing to do things like cuddle with almost strangers on the floor. It didn’t seem possible that he would get this lucky with a bunch of misfit teenagers but he did so Derek was just going to thank all the members of his pack for watching over him and making sure he didn’t have to be alone like he’d planned for so long.

Derek held his hand out to Stiles and motioned to Lydia, Danny and Jackson. Derek sat down in the center so they could all gather around him, pulling Stiles down on his open side while Allison curled in next to him, seeming to need the most connection after Kate’s death and Scott’s departure. Derek was more than willing to make sure she had what she needed from him. Boyd moved around a little so that he was curved on his side above their heads. Lydia shimmied down in between Isaac and Allison who just laughed at the move. Jackson and Danny groaned in cool guy unison before they slumped down as well while Erica moved to snuggle into Jackson’s side.

Once they were relatively settled; Lydia used some master remote that Derek had no idea where it had come from to start playing some TV show. It wasn’t Buffy, Lydia only put up with that when they were at the Stilinski house, she told them once during a binge session. This was some kind of cooking show and all Derek knew about that was they were far more dramatic than they needed to be and why was that guy yelling at everyone?

Instead of worrying about the sounds from the playing media, Derek focused on the pack around him. He used the extra power of the moon to tug at the bonds and bring them in closer. It was a strange thing. Jackson’s bond was strong, it was a living thing after Derek and the pack saved him from the Master and the curse of the Kanima. It wasn’t tenable anymore and Derek knew that he was feeling out of his depths with all this but willing to be there anyway. Derek sent the feeling of pride down the line, hoping that Jackson would know how he felt and could take some comfort in it.

Danny had a more vibrant bond with Jackson, obviously, but it wasn’t just him, the others were forming bonds as well. It was something Derek could feel at the core of him as the alpha. The pack bonds were something Derek had always been interested about but before now had never cared enough to actually study. Maybe Stiles would help him look into it. The bond between Derek and Danny was almost negligent but it was there, possibly brought on by the healing he did for the other human, even though there was no reason he should have been able to help the teenager but it happened and now he was a welcome part of the pack.

Allison’s bond was strong, so was Boyd’s while Isaac’s was still growing and there was another bond leading off into the distance and figured that was Isaac’s friendship with Scott something that Derek would never try to sever despite what Scott thought about him. It was nothing to be concerned with as long as Derek used the time to make sure that Isaac knew where he could belong, in the Hale pack with the alpha that turned him.

Scott was too young and even more green than Derek, he couldn’t be an alpha and he couldn’t take care of Isaac’s needs right now. Derek figured the run tonight did a lot to cement their connections to one another. Scott’s absence hadn’t really been felt in the run but the moments of quiet in the midst of the insanity, he could feel the bond that was there because Scott received the Bite from Derek’s uncle and he had the Alpha power now. Stiles was feeling the loss, there was hurt and sadness there, in the bond but it was greatly outweighed by the contentment of being with the pack.

And Stiles, the bond Derek shared with him was brighter than anything Derek had ever seen and stronger than even some of the bonds he had with his family before the fire. That was probably due to the trauma that tightened the bond they had with each other. There was no way the things they’d gone through together wouldn’t affect the bond.  He felt something similar with Laura which faded as she sought out other betas, the trauma that he had, the fire and losing everyone hadn’t been enough to keep them close for a long time. He didn’t want trauma to be the reason he stayed close to his new pack, that wasn’t going to make a healthy pack.

Instead he wrapped an arm around Stiles’s shoulder and tugged him closer while everyone else made sure they were touching him, “Is this like a thing with werewolves?” Erica asked from off to the side. She didn’t seem bothered by it but had to ask the question. She seemed the type, full of questions and demanding answers and attention. Her illness, the seizures had been sapping all that away from her so Derek was glad that they were all getting to know the Erica without the pain and seizures. Despite truly believing that being given the bite could be a gift, with Erica it felt real and true, more so than the others.

“Yeah,” Stiles spoke up, “We’ve all been sleeping and the emphasis on _sleeping_ in the same bed for months now. Not all of us all the time but being close to each other, it helps. Especially because we have gone through so much together and there was a lot of residual fear. Being close to each other is a comfort.”

Danny spoke to Jackson, surprising everyone, “Is that why you suddenly started sleeping in my bed with me several times a week?”

The whole pack made a combination of cooing and shocked sounds which turned to laughter at Jackson exposed growl. Derek shushed them, “It’s a normal thing for humans to need closeness and werewolves have a higher need for that same physical connection, I’m sure there are scientific reasons for it but I just know that more times than not, I would sleep in the same beds with my sisters or my parents. Don’t be mean to Jackson for needing and seeking out something he really needs from someone he felt safe with.”

The others murmured in confirmation of the admonishment and went silent again for a moment, listening to the television as someone destroyed the kitchen in their attempts to make something. Or maybe he heard it wrong, couldn’t tell.

“So, puppy piles are a thing then?” Erica asked.

Allison and Lydia giggled a little and Derek responded, “I don’t know if I would call it exactly that but yes. Puppy piles are a thing, especially on full moon nights because our emotions are so ramped up and being with each other is important. It creates a more powerful bond which is important right now because so many of us came into the pack so recently and not necessarily from my Bite.”

“What about knotting, is that a thing?” Erica asked and several others besides Stiles roared with laughter. Derek rolled his eyes, not surprised at all. _Teenagers_ , he thought.

Stiles got himself under control before anyone else could, “I will have to show you all the research I did when I first found out about werewolves, there is so much incorrect information about werewolves out there. A whole host of weird sexual things, including knotting. Werewolves aren’t dogs and except for Derek I haven’t even seen anyone shift into an actual wolf before.”

There was a murmur of interest at that but Derek ignored it, the full shift thing was a conversation for another night. Instead he said, “It’s good for us for people to not really know what we are and how to hurt us,” Derek murmured and pressed a kiss to Stiles’s forehead just because he can and thinking of Stiles researching werewolves reminded him of all the times they’d sat together in the train depot when Stiles would ask him questions and learn about him. It wasn’t just learning about werewolves in general, Stiles wanted to know about _him_ and it had been such a long time since someone had even cared, even Laura.

“I had so much fun tonight,” Erica said.

“That’s good, being a werewolf isn’t all hunters and awfulness,” Allison responded as she snuggled in.

“Ooh,” Lydia said as she lifted her hand to look at her nails for some unknown reason before she looked over to where Erica was, “We should go out and find Erica some new clothes, not that I don’t enjoy sweater chic, I think we can find something a little better. If you want, that is.”

“Really?” Erica asked, smelling of happy tears about to fall and a tremble of hope in her throat. Derek smiled, those three were going to make him crazy but it was going to be so good to see how the Pack were going to give each member what they need.

“I think that could definitely be arranged. We are so close to getting out of school and now with a couple of the supernatural issues being resolved we may actually get out of this with some good grades.”

“Yeah, I am going to have to find someone to tell me what I’ve missed for classes while I have been in and out of the hospital,” Stiles muttered, “I was still hoping to give Lydia a run for her money on Valedictorian.”

Lydia snorted inelegantly and Derek smiled wider, he couldn’t stop it. He enjoyed the snark as much as anything else his betas were willing to dish out and he wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Stiles. And he didn’t need to say anything now, Stiles and he had had the argument more than once about who gave what to who. They could have the argument again later; Derek would enjoy every second of it.

They settled in, talking and chattering when the mood struck them or laying in silence when their mood fell into lulls. They stayed close all night long and Derek knew that when they woke up after the full moon they were all going to be different even while they stayed the same.

 

Stiles woke up the morning after the Full moon, groaning at the early hour and then looked at his phone to realize that his dad and Melissa had already spread some little white lies about all of them having food poisoning so they wouldn’t have to go to school after such a late night. Derek said that in the future, if the full moon was going to get in the way of classes that they would just have a late-night cuddle session at someone’s house and though it might not feed the need to run the same way, it would help. They would make plans around school. Derek didn’t want any of them to fall behind or do poorly, because he was adorable and he cared about them. Stiles cuddled as close as he could to Derek’s side and sighed happily. This was good.

It was so good knowing that in one fell swoop Kate and Gerard were both dead (And the latter getting shot because he’d been stupidly trying to kill people in the hospital was wild all on its own), the extra hunters who came to town had left and Jackson had been saved. All of that made it seem like maybe they were going to get through this as long as they stuck together and with the inclusion of Erica, it seemed like they were only going to get closer in the coming months. Maybe with less people trying to kill all of them, they would have the chance to get better.

“Stilinski, stop thinking so loud,” Jackson muttered and a few of the others huffed in amusement.

“Werewolves, so rude,” Stiles responded because being one of the few humans surrounded by people who could smell his mood and sense every beat of his heart was annoying and strangely comforting all at once. They always seemed to know when he needed them to step in and assist and he was always allowed to tell them no when it was safe to.

Stiles loved this pack.

He settled down and closed his eyes, letting everyone’s nearness and warmth lull him back to sleep for a little while longer. It was one of the things he’d noticed after he stopped taking the meds, he was calmer and though he struggled with focus sometimes it wasn’t because he needed medication but just because he had a busy mind. He didn’t miss the meds, especially because he’d been abusing it for much longer than anyone really knew. This was better, not having it in his system at all.

The next time he woke up, Derek was already up and looking at the ceiling and the rest of the pack were muttering and waking up around them. Stiles grabbed his phone and looked at the time, surprised to see it was after eleven. He had a message from his dad so he opened the text really fast to see a picture of his dad with Echo curled up on the bed with him, there was a text that said _‘She wants you home but she’s been really good with me.’_ Stiles smiled, glad to know that Echo handled the night away from her master better than she had a couple days before. His stomach grumbled and a couple of the pack members chuckled.

“I would love to make everyone breakfast but I think that’s going to have to wait, I don’t know this house or the kitchen. Maybe we should just go out to eat,” Derek wondered aloud.

Lydia scoffed, “I promise you that my house is better stocked than the middle-class single dad Stilinski’s house currently is and that is not a dig at your father Stiles so don’t even think about getting upset.”

Stiles shrugged, somewhat surprised that she cared enough to say anything, getting used to thawed out Lydia was a process. Ice Queen Lydia wouldn’t have cared that she said something rude about his dad before she became a part of their little mad family.

“Well seen as how Dad hasn’t been feeding all of us on his own for more than a couple weeks now, I don’t know if that’s true but I am more than willing to eat the Princess out of house and home instead of my dad,” Stiles returned with a smirk.

Allison and Jackson snickered and they all started unwinding from the puppy pile they were in. Stiles felt as every single person stood up and stretched and they had to go back to the individuals rather than the whole and he couldn’t help the sadness that rose up in him at the thought.

Derek pressed a warm hand to the side of his neck as they sat up and said with a smile, “It won’t be the last puppy pile, I promise.”

Stiles winked, “You are going to call it a puppy pile from now on, aren’t you?”

Derek dramatically slapped a hand over his face with a groan as he realized what he said and everyone laughed. Derek got to his feet and helped Stiles up as well and before they could move, everyone snuggled in close for another hug, even Jackson though he groaned like they were killing him about it.

Stiles sighed in contentment, smushing himself into their embrace before they moved off to a couple of the bathrooms, Lydia’s mom wasn’t home so she wouldn’t notice a pack of hungry werewolves eating all her food. While several people were showering, Derek and Lydia worked together in the kitchen with a bizarre synchronicity that Stiles didn’t know how to parse with to get some breakfast prepared. He didn’t really know much about Lydia, for all the obsession he had with her; it was a surprising thought.

Stiles sat down at the island and watched them, Lydia knew what to take so her mother wouldn’t be really concerned about where the food was going and Derek cooked up a bunch of pancakes and some sausage. Stiles helped to toast and butter some bread, awkwardly with his wrapped shoulder but still able to do it. Soon the pack was descending on the food like a pack of literal werewolves. Stiles grabbed a couple pancakes and sausage, barely getting away with all his fingers intact as hunger became the motivator rather than niceties.

There were plates but they were barely being used and it was the most fun Stiles had at the breakfast table in a long time. Derek slapped hands every once in a while, and kept Erica and Isaac from starting fights over the food three times a piece. They were still young and Derek was patient but firm about it. Each time they were sent off to calm down and only allowed to come back when they were settled. Isaac definitely looked like a kicked puppy and Stiles pressed a gentle hand to his shoulder when he came back one of the times and Isaac beamed under the connection. Derek reached out and ran a comforting hand over the back of Isaac’s neck as well. Erica was just petulant so Stiles flicked her on the tip of the nose and she gasped then laughed. Jackson and Allison watched, smiling and bumping shoulders.

After brunch was demolished, Allison and Isaac helped Lydia clean everything up while Derek pulled Stiles over to the couch in the other room and sat down with him. It felt good to be with Derek, sitting together and not worrying about someone coming to kill them any minute.

“There is going to be the next weird thing, undoubtedly, because this is us after all,” Stiles muttered and Derek pressed a kiss to the side of his head, “But this time. This quiet, I don’t want to waste any of it.”

“We won’t,” Derek said, speaking the words into his skin.

Stiles smiled and they stayed like that while everyone else took their showers. Stiles couldn’t really shower, not without the stuff he needed to use to protect his wound from excess moisture. It was healing nicely thanks to Derek but he was still human and could still get infected so he was going to wait until they got back to the Stilinski house. Derek was the last to go shower and Allison and Lydia came to sit with Stiles while they waited.

“So, are you guys going to go on a date or something?” Stiles asked because he was Stiles and asking invasive questions was like his thing. They really should be glad he hadn’t asked before.

Allison and Lydia both flush in embarrassment even as they looked at each other with wonder. Allison spoke, “It’s not like either one of us knows anything about being with another girl. We don’t really know what to call this.”

“Derek and I talked about this a lot because he’d never really considered himself gay or even bisexual before this. He never had desires for another man and I am undoubtedly fluid in my sexuality but totally have no idea what I’m doing.”

“So that’s all you have for us; you’re clueless? We could have told _you_ that,” Lydia snarked.

“No,” Stiles grinned, “If you would let me finish. Sometimes with werewolves, even with humans, the attraction and romantic desire can be with someone you may not have ever imagined but it’s with a person you are connected to deeply. It’s because you two are so close. It’s a bond and not something to be taken lightly but don’t rush it either. I know that Derek and I have a lot of other shit slowing us down in the romance department but I don’t think that we would be doing ourselves or the pack any favors by rushing into something like this.”

“Take it slow and do some research,” Allison reiterated with a smile, “Sounds fun.”

Lydia scoffed and Stiles winked at her. Allison settled back against Stiles’s shoulder and draped her legs over Lydia’s lap while she brushed out her drying hair and started plaiting it into one long braid and then she helped Lydia with her hair. Stiles watched as Allison ran the brush through Lydia’s red hair, it was soft and loving, kind of felt like an intrusion on some sort of intimacy. He tried not to watch but seeing Lydia so soft and open was compelling, he couldn’t look away. Allison brushed out Lydia’s hair and then did the long tresses into a complicated design, bringing most of it off her neck then Allison hugged her then invited Erica over.

The newest member of the Hale Pack came to sit down on the floor in front of Allison, in between her legs and they helped her tame the mass of wavy blond hair. Stiles had never seen the kind of work girls really put into just their hair, let alone all the makeup and their outfits and Stiles was suddenly very glad to be a guy and kind of ashamed that he didn’t try a little harder. Not because Derek or anyone had to be swayed but he’d been stalking Lydia for years and he’d never understood or really cared about the effort she put into her appearance. He’d only continued to bother her when she had been clear on her disinterest. She could have been nicer about it but he had to admit that he shouldn’t have kept forcing the interest when she didn’t want anything to do with him. Now they were much closer and it didn’t matter, she wasn’t into him and he wasn’t into her, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still greatly impressed by the red headed Goddess.

This was different though, he figured, they were just sitting around in yoga pants and sweaters, the girls weren’t trying to impress anyone, they were just being kind and taking care of each other. And it didn’t seem like something that would have only happened because they were werewolves, girls were just like this. Stiles could learn something from this.

Stiles struggled to sit up, leaning to kiss each girl on the cheek and they all stared at him in sweet surprise, “What was that for?”

“Just being your awesome selves, you ladies rock!”

They all smiled and went back to what they were doing without any comment, Stiles caught movement out of the corner of his eye and looked over to see Derek smiling at them from the doorway. Stiles got up and walked over to him for a quick hug and scent marking before Derek spoke, “Let’s get packed up and head out to the Preserve, I have a little surprise for all of us.”

Everyone nodded, some of the wolves pilfering some snacks from the kitchen before Lydia could stop them though she was just shaking her head anyway. Everyone headed out of the Martin residence, pilling into their vehicles and followed Derek and Stiles in the Camaro.

“What’s the surprise?” Stiles asked.

“If I told you then it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?” Derek admonished gently.

“The last time I got a surprise it was my rapist kidnapper in the backyard who shot me, so maybe not the best time for surprises.”

Derek looked over and gave him a tender look, “Do you trust me Stiles?”

“Yes, of course,” Stiles responded without pause.

“Then shut up and let me show you what a good surprise might look like, I don’t get to do this very often and I want to enjoy it.”

Stiles scoffed, turning to look out the window, smiling a little because Derek was still a snarlywolf sometimes but it didn’t have the bite it once did. Not with him or the pack members anyway. Even in the short amount of time since Derek came back to Beacon Hills, he’d changed so much and Stiles couldn’t wait to see what this surprise might be.

Derek led the caravan of vehicles back towards the Hale house and Stiles looked around, seeing the changes to the area. Derek had already made some calls and some of the nearby trees had been taken down and a lot of the building materials and tools they would need for the demolition was already there. Stiles snapped a confused look over to him and Derek smiled. He parked near the house and took a deep breath, even knowing that he was going to do something about this gothic tableau of sadness, it was still difficult to see.

Derek got out of the Camaro and Stiles scrambled out of the passenger seat while everyone else got out of their vehicles and Derek started talking before they burst from excitement and anxiety, “So I ordered a demolition on what’s left of the Hale house and I am going to be breaking ground on a new Pack house.”

Stiles screeched and all of the werewolves winced and a couple of them threw a swing like they were going to hit him but none of them were close enough to make their mark. Stiles walked around the front of the car and threw his good arm around Derek’s neck and hugged him tightly, “I kind of hate the idea that you aren’t going to be at the house with Dad and me but this is amazing and I can’t wait to see what it’s going to look like. Do you have a floor plan? What’s it going to look like? Show me everything!”

Derek smiled and nodded, “I will, I have been speaking to Alpha Ito and Dr. Deaton about the way the house was before and I have been using a bit of each session with Dr. Marcus to help me let go of having a replica and making a house that was going to be good for this pack, this family because we are different.”

Stiles squeezed him a little again, “I’m so happy to hear you’re doing this. Do you know how long it’s going to take to build it?”

Derek shrugged, “I haven’t gotten quite that far but as soon as I know, you are going to know. All of you are going to know because this is going to be our pack house so there is going to be a little bit for everyone.”

Derek looked over where Allison was watching him with a smile, “What?”

“Just thinking that Gerard would shit a brick if he was still alive. He and Kate were two peas in a pod and I am so glad to know that you are going to rebuild the Hale’s stake on the land here. Argents are not going to be the end of the Hale wolves in Beacon Hills.”

“Never thought you’d hear an Argent say something like that, huh?” Stiles joked, waggling his eyebrows and nudging Derek.

Derek winked at Allison, “She’s not just some Argent, she going to be the one that solidifies relations between the Argent hunters and the Hale pack. Not to mention she’s a badass beta and an amazing shot with a bow and arrow.”

Allison chuckled, “Flattery will get you nowhere Alpha.”

“Where do you think I’m trying to go?” Derek returned smartly and Allison laughed again, the sound bouncing happily around them. Derek enjoyed the interplay and they looked around, some of the pack members making suggestions or requests while Derek took note of the ones that were said with _real desire._ Doing this for the pack was one of the reasons Derek was willing to even try. It wasn’t something he’d even been considering until Dr. Marcus started talking about the future of the Hale pack in a couple of sessions. She had to work for it, like always.

The Stilinksi house had become a pack house but it was so small for all of them and Derek knew that at some point it was going to be good to have his own space again and because of the situation with Boyd and Isaac, he wasn’t going to be alone, though Isaac could choose to stay with Melissa for the foreseeable future which wouldn’t be a problem especially because the McCall house was close to the Stilinski house and pretty close to the school as well. This was the interesting aspect of not having a born family, all of them had their own families and Derek was a part of them but not the only part.

Though if everyone moved out of the Stilinksi house, then Stiles would be back to sleeping alone but Derek was determined that wasn’t going to happen, not when they both still needed each other.

It wasn’t long before they all got sick of staring at the hollowed-out house and they all piled back into their vehicles and headed back towards the Stilinski house.

Jackson pulled away and texted that he was going to go check in with his parents and his little sister which Derek didn’t mind at all. These things were all good for Jackson, because they solidified his foundation in Beacon Hills and with the pack. Danny was with him so he wouldn’t be coming back to the Stilinski place. Isaac, Boyd, Erica, Lydia and Allison were all following Derek and Stiles into the house after they parked.

Echo was sitting next to the front door, ready with her tail wagging and whining just a little until Stiles walked over to her, dropped down on his knees and gathered her into a one-armed hug. She pushed her snout into his neck, making Stiles bark out a laugh then moved on to his hand and arm and chest, even shoving her nose into his armpit making Stiles laugh even harder. After she was convinced that her charge was alive and well, no more harmed than he’d been before, Echo moved on to receive hugs and pats from the rest of the pack. Derek patted her down, letting Echo rub against his legs while Stiles walked into the living room and was quickly swallowed up in a hug with his father. Derek walked over, smiling and pressed a hand to Noah’s shoulder.

Noah reached out and dragged him into the hug, “I’m glad you guys had a good night but I’m glad your home. It’s been more than a little while since you stayed somewhere over night and it was hard for both me and Echo.”

Derek and Stiles both nodded before they wandered into the living room and pushed everything out of the way, setting blankets and sleeping bags and pillows into the space in front of the television and Stiles turned on Buffy the Vampire Slayer while they cuddled some more. There was going to be time to pull away from each other, go to their own homes later, for Allison to deal with her parent’s issues and for Isaac to resettle at the McCall house with Melissa while Lydia went back to her overly large house all alone but it wasn’t right now. He was going to keep them all in one large cuddle for as long as possible.

Stiles sighed, “I love puppy piles.”

Derek pressed a kiss to the side of his head, “Yeah, they are pretty great.”

“You’re pretty great,” Stiles responded.

Derek blushed prettily and they let the rest of the day pass in tv show binging, snuggles and bonding.


	2. Planning Parties and Dinners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting back to some kind of normal after everything happened. Stupidly, they still have to go to school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the end note. Apologies for the novel to come, haha...
> 
> TL:DR I am unsure about how this story is going to go and I would love some reassurance, especially since its my birthday and its going really poorly. :( 
> 
> I love you guys

Thursday after school, everyone got together to get a jump on their missing homework and class work. Stiles, Boyd and Allison were sitting at the kitchen island while Derek used the counter space to make them some sandwiches, taking orders. Stiles fumbled a little with his arm in the sling but Lydia came over to help him since she finished her work in homeroom already.

Isaac and Danny were sitting on the couch with Erica and Lydia while Jackson was sitting in one of the other chairs. They were helping Isaac do some studying since apparently living with an abusive father who enjoyed putting him in a freezer in the basement hadn’t been conducive to good grades.

Danny, much like Stiles and Lydia was doing relatively well. Stiles was still fighting for the Valedictorian spot but he was sure after all the crap with Peter, Kate and Jackson it was going to be really difficult but he was going to keep trying until Sophomore year was over.

Lydia looked around the room, “You know what I think?”

“What?” Stiles asked as he glanced at her before turning back to what he was working on. He didn’t really feel the need to stop just because she was talking to them, progress for all.

“We should have like a pool party once a month at my place or at Jackson’s place depending on where we would get away with the most.”

Jackson snorted, “Better make it your house, since we adopted the baby, my mom has been around a lot more.”

Derek turned around, handing out snacks, frowning as he asked, “Why?”

Lydia rolled her eyes at Jackson then turned to their alpha, “Because we are all teenagers and maybe it would be a good way to invite some of our other friends over and ‘appear ordinary’. Plus, pool time. Plus, we can give Papa Stilinski a break from all of us.”

There was a general murmur of consensus while Derek just shook his head though he wasn’t saying it was a bad idea but he wasn’t going to be able to be there and that makes him a little nervous. Stiles looked at his boyfriend and then glanced at the rest of them, “I don’t know if I want to do something that’s purposefully going to separate us from Derek. I know that he doesn’t need to be with us all the time but we are still working on our pack mojo. If we are going to appear normal, hanging out with an older guy isn’t really going to help us out.”

Derek walked over and wrapped his arm around Stiles’s shoulders, pressing a kiss to his head, “While I appreciate the thought Stiles, we are going to have pack training and pack days all the time because you made sure of that with the calendar in the kitchen. I don’t see why you shouldn’t go and do things without me. That’s healthy and its exactly what Dr. Marcus was talking to us about a couple weeks ago. That we shouldn’t have to feel like we can’t do anything without the other. I will just have to learn to do the same.”

Stiles still didn’t like it but the others were really excited so he just let it go. He would talk to Derek about it later, how being without the entire pack (especially Derek) made Stiles feel anxious and a little like vomiting. It was bad enough when they were in school and in different classes and Derek wasn’t there. All of the time he’d spent getting better felt meaningless now. The lockers were loud, people were loud and Echo was working overtime to keep him on an even keel but Stiles also thought that him being a freak shouldn’t keep the others from having a good time.

Erica was excited because she’d never been allowed because of the epilepsy, Isaac was thrilled to be included in a ‘popular kid’ party despite the fact that more of the pack were on the fringe rather than popular and only seemed that way because Lydia and Jackson and Danny. He’d never been invited to any parties so clearly Isaac didn’t know the difference and the last one he’d snuck into was the fateful one where Matt fell into the pool and unleashed a level of crazy that none of them were prepared for even after it happened.

“You okay being around water after something like that?” Derek asked Isaac gently.

He nodded quickly and Erica dragged him back into a conversation about what kind of bathing suit she was going to get which distracted all the guys while she gushed about two-piece bikinis and covers that she saw in all the hours that she window shopped through the screen of her computer. Then she wondered if someone would be able to loan her something since Lydia was determined to have the first party with pack and a ‘few people’ the next evening which wasn’t going to give them a lot of time to go shopping, plus her parents weren’t necessarily big on new clothes and things like that. After all the times in and out of the hospital it was easy to calculate how much money they had sunk into Erica’s care over the years.

Lydia and Allison both offered her a suit and Erica just kept excitedly talking about all the things she’d never gotten to do and this was just one of the things on her bucket list (which she’d written when she was diagnosed at seven years old). Stiles wasn’t going to keep her from doing any of those things, not if he had a choice about it. He’d seen her in the hospital almost as much if not more than Scott was when they were younger.

When Dad got home, everyone greeted him happily and Stiles and Derek worked on something more substantial for dinner before they all sat down together to eat.

When the food was all gone and everyone started gathering up their bags and snacks that Derek was handing out to go home for the night, Stiles itched at the strap as he walked over to where Echo was laying down next to the couch. “Echo needs to go out one more time,” he murmured.

Boyd, Allison and Isaac all rushed over to unnecessarily help him leash Echo and agreed to walk with him so Stiles let them because he couldn’t bear the thought of going out there alone. Allison stayed close to his side while Boyd and Isaac just watched the backyard in the darkness. Stiles wondered what it was like to have the night vision that they had.

Stiles could still get the Bite but Derek already refused him because Stiles had only wanted it to fix the feeling of being helpless. Stiles had no intention of making that mistake twice.

He would just have to play the buddy system game for a while until the tremors and the anxiety got low again.

When Echo was done, they cleaned up and bagged the poop, tossing it in the small garbage pail that lived out there for that specific reason before going back inside and Stiles released her. He headed to the kitchen and washed his hands while everyone started heading towards the door.

Allison and Lydia left together after hugging everyone, Jackson and Danny were next and they were taking Isaac back to the McCall place before heading home. Erica was cuddled up on the couch with Boyd who didn’t seem to be at all interested in leaving so Stiles closed the door.

“Erica, are you going home today?” Derek asked from the table.

She nodded, “Maybe in a little while, I just really don’t want to leave yet. My parents don’t mind, they are just thrilled the ‘treatment’ is working.”

Stiles shrugged and joined them on the couch, glad that they weren’t all leaving at once. Derek came over and did the same, “It’s not that weird actually, you are still one of the newest betas and you just had your first full moon. Scenting and being close to your packmates is going to feel really important and its going to help you keep control of the shift.”

Erica nodded and Stiles leaned into her other side, “How is it without the fear of the seizures?”

Erica groaned in a way that made him a little tight in the pants (bisexual, not dead after all) before she answered, “It’s so good. I can’t believe that my parents are going to let me go to school next year with all of you. I am going to meet people and flirt in the halls. I am going to get to go watch the games and cheer in the stands, I mean I could have done it before but it wouldn’t have really meant anything when I didn’t go to school or know anyone. I am going to get to be alive for the first time in my life. And it’s all thanks to you guys.”

Stiles smiled and ran his fingers through the ends of Erica’s hair, it was smooth and warmed from her skin. She was wearing some oversized jeans and a sweater that looked really comfortable but also not something he imagined she wanted to wear.

Allison and Lydia asked her if she wanted to go out shopping with them but he knew that they hadn’t yet. Maybe Stiles would go with them. Going out with Lydia and Danny that one time was a lot of fun though he didn’t necessarily want to change everything about his look but his birthday was coming up and maybe having a something a little different for it might be fun.

They spent another thirty minutes talking about school and what sort of things the pack could do together before Erica finally got up to go home. Derek walked her home like the gentleman Alpha that he was, though Boyd looked like he wanted to offer as well. Stiles got ready for bed, knowing that Derek would join him when he got back while Boyd got ready and ended up falling asleep on an air bed in Stiles’s room because it made them both feel better. He slept better when they were all in the same space or at least a few of them. He didn’t even wake when Derek joined him later.

When their alarms went off the next morning, Stiles got up and they all got ready for school the next day with the ease of people who had lived together long enough that they knew how to share a bathroom while Derek made food to feed them all.

Dad stumbled downstairs and took a mug of coffee from Derek who put the sugar and cream in that Dad liked, “Thanks Derek.”

Derek nodded and continued doing what he was doing in the kitchen then handed them each a sack lunch and something for the other betas which had long been a habit for the alpha. Stiles walked over and pressed a kiss to Derek’s scruffy cheek, “See you after school.”

Derek nodded and squeezed Stiles’s hand gently, “You’re coming back here before the whole pool thing, right?”

Stiles nodded, “Of course, I wouldn’t miss a little time with you for anything Big Guy.”

Derek rolled his eyes good naturedly at the endearment then Boyd handed Echo’s leash to Stiles, pressed a hand to Derek’s shoulder while the alpha did the same to his beta and they headed out to the jeep. Echo jumped into the backseat like usual and they climbed into the front, Boyd in the driver seat since it was really difficult to drive with his arm in a sling.

Instead Stiles sat in the passenger seat and fiddled with his phone.

“So, what’s it like at one of these pool parties? What should I expect?” Boyd asked after a couple minutes of silence.

Stiles shrugged his good arm wincing a little at the pull but it wasn’t the worst thing he’d felt in the last year, “I haven’t ever been invited to them either. I know that we were all friendly, sort of, when you got here but before the werewolf thing happened it was literally just Scott and me. We didn’t have a lot of other friends and we definitely were not being invited to the Martin or the Whittemore house for any sort of party.”

“Right, I remember you saying that,” Boyd responded stoically and Stiles nodded again. Who can keep track of everything Stiles says in any given day? He pretty surprised Boyd remembered anything he said at all.

They made it to school without much more said, which was Boyd’s usual state of being and Stiles appreciated it especially now when he was learning how he filled all the silences in his life so he wouldn’t have to feel the emotions about the things that happened to him. Stiles didn’t really need to fill the silence anymore but he still played on his phone so he wouldn’t dwell on any specific thing right now, it was a process after all and Dr. Marcus always said that he should get to choose the safe and healthy times to take his trauma out of the mental ‘box’ he put it in to deal with it. Stiles didn’t need to be dealing with it before school.

He still loved yammering about anything he’d learned recently, having friends who are willing to listen is amazing but there were times when he just let himself be silent. Boyd is one of his favorite people to do this with besides Derek of course who could put Boyd to shame with the desire for silence. Though with Erica and Isaac joining the pack, Boyd was learning how to engage with the pack mates in a different way as well.

They were all changing a little bit, together.

Boyd parked the jeep and pocketed the keys since Stiles wasn’t allowed to drive until he got the brace off then grabbed Stiles’s pack while Echo and Stiles got out of the vehicle.

Allison and Lydia were sitting together on one of the steps in front of the doors, Lydia on Allison’s lap while Jackson and Danny were standing behind them and flirting with people as they walked by. Isaac was getting out of Melissa’s car at the curb and Boyd wrapped a friendly arm around his shoulder and amazingly he didn’t flinch. It was a good step. Stiles smiled at him in greeting as they got closer to the others.

Stiles leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to Allison’s cheek then Lydia’s before he gave Jackson and Danny each a fist bump. A couple of the lacrosse players paused to talk to Danny and Jackson, and even nodded at the rest of them. Some of the players recently decided that if Stiles and the others were going to be hanging out with the so called ‘cool kids’ then they must not be worth picking on. Also, Stiles was getting a bit of a reputation as a ‘badass’ because he kept surviving bad shit. He didn’t think that made him anything like a badass but if that meant that people were going to leave him alone then so be it. Stiles would take what he could get especially when it came to people who could put Jackson to shame with their abuse.

They headed inside at the jangle of the bell and started their first classes. School was delightfully boring, their teachers lecturing and students bitching about being awake and in school for another day. Stiles didn’t even go to his locker for most of the day and someone asked him about it once but he just shrugged. He just rushed through the hall from one class to the next so he wouldn’t have to deal with the slamming lockers, the idea of opening his and having to listen to those closing around him while he was trying to remember the combination. He just couldn’t do it.

Somehow Stiles made it through the morning session without a panic attack but it was a close one and Echo was pressed up against him and tense the whole time, watching other people to see if anyone was going to become a problem.

They went to lunch and he couldn’t even walk through the line to get food, his stomach grumbling at the thought while Stiles huddled in close with the pack outside where the students weren’t filling the cafeteria to capacity. He just kept petting Echo and letting himself be soothed by her warmth and the softness of her fur. The werewolves were watching him with concern but they weren’t saying anything which he appreciated. Danny and Lydia were sending him nervous looks as well even though they couldn’t scent whatever he was feeling. Stiles didn’t want to talk about any of this at school. The rumor mill didn’t need any more fodder about any of them but especially about him.

“Man, I just want to go back to cuddling with Derek and everyone in Lydia’s basement,” he whispered and the others looked over at him while some of them halted conversations. Danny, Jackson and Boyd were discussing lacrosse while Isaac and Allison were comparing notes about being a new werewolf, considering what they should be sharing with Erica since they had a little bit of time. Stiles wished she could come to school now; it would be another body against the rush of teenage stupidity in the school. Another body against the cacophony of their judgement and beliefs about him.

“Well we have the pool thing tonight and you don’t have to stay super long but we were doing it to have time together outside wolf specific things,” Allison responded, gripping one of Stiles’s hands in comfort. Lydia kept a hold of Allison other hand and though the other pack mates were listening, they weren’t talking. “And we are doing some pack stuff tomorrow right?”

Stiles nodded and looked away from the group, “I should go, you know, talk to someone.”

“Someone?” Jackson asked, “Everyone you talk to is here.”

Danny elbowed him in the gut and Jackson grunted and shut up while Stiles stood up and walked inside to head towards the office. He asked the office administrator if Dr. Marcus was available and she said she would check, inviting Stiles to sit down in one of the available chairs. He shuffled over to them and slumped down, his leg bouncing up and down.

About the longest 90 seconds of Stiles’s young life passed before someone called, “Stiles? Come on back.”

He jumped up and out of his chair and rushed back to Dr. Marcus’s normal office and she closed the door behind him then moved around him to take a seat. She didn’t ask him to sit, knowing him well enough that it would be a waste of breath. Stiles released Echo from service with a word and she settled down but kept a wary eye on him as he paced the tiny space. A couple minutes passed in silence and he couldn’t take it anymore, “It’s like everything was for nothing!”

She didn’t ask him ‘what’ because she knew better than most, “Why do you think that?”

“I have been coming to see you every damn week, more than once sometimes, and I was training with werewolves and working on self-defense and now I can’t go a couple of seconds without thinking someone is going to shoot me in the back of my head and that’s _with Kate being dead!_ Like what was the point of all that?”

Dr. Marcus continued to watch him intently and Stiles looked at the wall or the table or Echo, just anything except her. She was going to use logic and he was going to sound crazy. That’s going to happen, Stiles thought bitterly.

“It’s completely understandable that you would be frustrated and hurting right now, you have just had a terrifying and dangerous thing happen and you were injured because of it. Being shot, even in situations like your father is in, carries trauma though he has trained to deal with that. In that instance, it has nothing to do with him personally and he’s still going to carry the hurt and the trauma. In your case, the woman who kidnapped and raped you came after you again and tried to kill you. It’s perfectly human for you to be responding like this.”

Stiles slumped into his chair, sullen that she proved him wrong even as he felt stupidly relieved at her words.

“I would also like to remind you that all the work you did with Derek and the pack as well as with your self-defense classes were not going to fix everything. I know we talked about that and at the time you were not able to really take that in but I hope you can believe me when I say that I never meant for those things to be a solution to your trauma and triggers. Not to mention, there is only so much you can plan for and your best friend being threatened into spilling information to your attacker is not something you were magically going to be able to prepare for.”

Stiles nodded, she was right of course but it was so hard to let himself off the hook for not getting away from Kate and the fact that Scott killed her for Stiles just felt wrong and like it was his fault.

“Maybe I have a problem with taking on fault that don’t belong to me.”

Dr. Marcus smiled a little, “It’s good that you recognize that. The things that Scott did, that Kate did, even that Derek or your father do are not your responsibility and it’s probably a good thing for you to start really working on recognizing the difference between healthy guilt and toxic shame. Why don’t we talk a little more about that specifically at our next full session? And if you need to take some time away from the mess of people during lunch and whatnot then I am sure that your friends are going to be nothing but supportive.”

Stiles nodded, the great thing about being part of a werewolf pack is that a person could really get used to actually being cared for and even doted on, even though that was a weird thought. The werewolves were so determined to make sure that he was safe and comfortable that they would be willing to hear him out about almost anything.

Except maybe Jackson, because no matter what he was, Jackson was still more than capable of douche-ness. He was getting better but he was still Jackson.

Stiles took a deep breath and looked at his therapist again, “I thought you were going to tell me I was crazy and stupid.”

Marcus nodded, “It’s okay to think things, they don’t have to control you and I am always going to do my best to hear you and even when you are saying things that are not the healthiest responses I am not going to tell you that you are stupid for thinking or saying it. I think that you are doing remarkably well but after the most recent trauma, we need to stay focused on how to make sure that you can move through your days and actually learn things at school.”

The warning bell sounded and Dr. Marcus wrote him a note to give to his next teacher and Stiles thanked her and left even though he just wanted to go home. Being in school was just not going to teach him anything today. Echo walked calmly beside him and watched the people walking around them, just making sure they weren’t going to get to close while Stiles was so jumpy.

Hopefully the rest of the day was going to be boring, without a lot of triggered mania.

 

~~~

 

Derek looked up from the notebook he was writing in when Noah walked in the front door. He smiled at the older man who walked over and pressed a hand to Derek’s shoulder in a show of easy acceptance that Derek appreciated every time it happened, before he grabbing a mug and filling it with coffee.

“What are you doing home so early?” Derek asked him.

Noah looked at him over his mug for a moment, “I was worried about Stiles, told everyone to hold down the fort and I would be on my cellphone. I just kind of want to be here in case he’s not doing as well as he wants us to believe.”

“You think he’s not doing well at school? Wouldn’t he just text or something if he needed something?”

Noah gave him a look and Derek chuckled.

“I guess you’re right, he isn’t very good at saying what he needs when he needs it, but I think he’s getting better about that.”

Noah nodded, “Me too actually, I guess I am being silly about this.”

Derek shrugged and bookmarked another recipe in the book he was looking at, something he found second hand at one of the used bookstores in town (Derek loved second hand books which Stiles knew about but no one else), “I don’t think it’s silly. I think its amazing that Stiles has such a devoted parent. Its something that not everyone is lucky enough to have.”

“Do you mean the other betas or you?” Noah asked, not unkindly.

Derek took a deep breath, “I had amazing parents, they aren’t alive anymore but I did have them. I think after seeing what Isaac was going through and hearing about what Boyd went through before leaving home, even knowing the kinds of difficulties that all of you have faced makes me a little more grateful that for as long as I had them; my parents were amazing. I didn’t have to hide things from them, I did because Uncle Peter filled my head with stories that I shouldn’t have believed and then Kate made the secret affair thing seem so seductive until she had me. I had a mother who was beloved and respected but she always tried to have time for me and my siblings and my dad was great too. He was always so present with us. I was lucky.”

“It’s okay to be sad anyway about the loss, you know that right Derek?” Noah asked.

Derek nodded, “Yeah, I am learning all about that is sessions with Dr. Marcus.”

Noah looked at the books and the notebook that Derek was writing in, “What are you up to anyway?”

“I was putting together some recipes for the next couple days, for the pack.”

Noah smiled a little and took another drink from his mug, “Did your mom cook for the pack?”

Derek shook his head, thinking about his aunt who always smelled like flour and oil, always in the kitchen and remembered his mom checking in and making sure that she had everything she needed to act as the Dinamarca. “She was the alpha, not that she doesn’t think highly of those who would feed her pack but my Aunt was the one who was always in the kitchen. But this pack is different.”

Noah snorted, “You’re telling me.”

Derek grinned, loving the interaction and the ease he had with Noah now, after working for it for months now. He knew that Noah still had reservations about the werewolf thing and the Stiles/Derek thing but he was there for them either way.

“Because of the situation, the pack all being in school, that has to be their first priority but that’s going to change when they get a little older and we start learning who is going to be in each position then things will shift again but for now this is just my opportunity to support my pack and care for them.”

Noah kept drinking his coffee for a few minutes while Derek went back to writing notes and amounts and adding to his shopping lists before Noah spoke again, “Do you like it? Cooking for them?”

Derek stopped and looked up at the older man again. He glanced at the notes and lists and the books he had spread all over the kitchen island and smiled, “I do actually. I really like doing this for them.”

Noah smiled, “I think you should keep doing it then.”

Derek nodded, “I know you don’t know as much about werewolf packs as Stiles does or I do or anything but I want you to know that it means a lot that you would say that. Doing this, I didn’t know it was going to make me feel so good, especially when I was struggling to feel like anything but a failure. I didn’t know how to be an alpha and for the most part I still don’t but I know how to keep them fed.”

Noah smiled and finally came to sit down across from Derek, trying not to disturb any of the piles or notes and looked Derek straight in the eye and he tried not to flinch but it was intense. Something else Stiles got from his dad, that intensity and when it was focused on Derek it was too much like sitting across from his mother.

“I think, Derek, that you are doing more than just keeping them fed. I am sure that your mother and your aunt and so many people knew this before you but eating together; that’s important. Eating together as a family can create a home instead of a house, just ask Stiles from all the years since his mother died. I love my son so much but this wasn’t a home after Claudia died. This was just the place with the most memories of home. And it has been a home again since all this happened, because we all made some changes and you started working on keeping them fed.”

Derek smiled, blood rushing to his face, warming him from within, “Thank you.”

Noah nodded, “So what’s the plan for tonight anyway?”

“Well I think they are going to be over at Lydia’s for dinner but Stiles is coming back here beforehand. I was going to bake some cookies for when they come over tomorrow, you have any requests?”

Noah hummed, “Why don’t you and I have some dinner together? I don’t have to go back in until around seven or eight just to help out on the night shift. Or maybe you could call Braeden or something, you know, have some friends your age?”

Derek frowned, “Why do you think I need friends? Is this because of Stiles?”

Noah shook his head, “It’s not about that, I actually am trying to think about you, there is a lot to be said about having friends outside the pack, people that aren’t depending on you. Did your mother have friends outside the pack?”

Derek thought back and shook his head, “Not really but I don’t think it was because she didn’t need them, I think she was just friends with her siblings and they were equals mostly but also she was friends with your Claudia. So I guess I don’t know everything about my family and how my mother had people in her life. I just don’t think that I have made friends since I was ten years old.”

Noah smiled, “Well maybe its time to learn how to make friends again. Do you mind if I invite a couple of my deputies over for some of your famously well-seasoned steak and potatoes and maybe you might have something in common with them? I have a couple that are around your age and they are good people.”

Derek shrugged; he didn’t really know what to say. Making friends had become basically against the rules after the pack was killed. Before that, Derek had the same friends since he was in kindergarten with a few exceptions. He was basically a grumpy non-verbal guy who’s first attempt at making friends shouldn’t be with police officers but he appreciated what Noah was offering, opening his house and an opportunity for Derek to make friends outside the betas.

“If you don’t want to do this, of course you don’t have to,” Noah insisted and Derek nodded.

“I understand but I kind of don’t know if speaking to a bunch of officers is the right idea, especially with the other stuff that goes on around here. Is that really such a good idea?”

“I trust my guys and if there were more people on the force that knew what was going on, I don’t think that would be a bad thing. I am not saying that we are planning to out werewolves to any given person or that I am going to put you in a situation where you are in danger from these guys. Just some steaks and maybe some conversation, about other things? ‘Normal’ things.”

Derek took a deep breath, then another, like Dr Marcus taught him to do and nodded, “Can you ask them to bring something? Maybe side dishes or something, store bought would be fine. I just don’t think we can pull together a whole meal with what I have on hand and honestly I bought all that for you and the pack.”

Noah nodded and smiled, “Sure, I will give them a call.”

Derek finished prepping meal plans and snacks for the betas, making a grocery list before he made himself something to eat and got a slew of messages from Allison, Lydia and Isaac about Stiles.

_‘I’m worried about Stiles, he went to see Dr. Marcus and I think he’s been having trouble being here at school,’_ Allison’s message said.

Lydia’s was, _‘I don’t know if a pool party is a good idea for Stiles right now, maybe we can all convince him to stay in with you and Papa Stilinski?’_

And Isaac’s just said, _‘Stiles is freaking out and he smells weird.’_

Derek chuckled at the last one, Isaac was still young and wasn’t really used to his senses yet. Clearly Stiles was well enough to go see Dr. Marcus when he felt the need to but Derek was concerned that going to the pool party might end up being too much for him, especially if Lydia was being Lydia and ends up inviting other people as well. Derek doesn’t think that she would even do it on purpose, but her and Jackson have other friends and they are the popular powerhouses of Beacon Hills High School and Stiles just wasn’t a part of that. The other betas are more than capable of making friends and discovering how to relate to other people but Stiles just wasn’t. He was passionate and goofy and had no filter, Derek knows better than a lot of people what its like to have the looks to back up the popularity and not being able to back it up with the charisma. Stiles was more gangly and weird looking but that’s because he just wasn’t like Jackson and Danny and even Scott post-Bite. He just sadly didn’t have a lot going for him when it comes to the shallow likes and dislikes of the high school general population.

What Derek knew and what the rest of the pack knew was that under all the flailing and the weirdness and the laughter for the sake of hiding his idiosyncrasies, Stiles was smart and loyal and a good person. He was attractive in a lithe way and the flailing was endearing. He was worth so much more than what some high school sophomores and junior could possibly understand, add that to the new trauma and the weird way news flies around small towns and there is a lot of reasons why Stiles wouldn’t do well in a high school party.

But Derek didn’t want to be the one to tell Stiles he shouldn’t go, especially because he is clearly trying desperately to be normal. Maybe Stiles would come back to the house and decide on his own not to go out but now that Derek had committed his evening to the Sheriff and trying to make new friends, it wasn’t like he was going to be holed up in Stiles’s bedroom with him.

Derek fiddled with his phone, thinking maybe he should text Stiles and check in with him but if the pack was already all over him, Stiles might not appreciate it. Stiles has proven more than once in the last year that he will isolate when others are worried about him. It was something Derek and Stiles had in common.

He messaged back to the others that he was grateful for the information and he would think about what he could do for Stiles that night and over the weekend even.

Derek opened his text messages with Stiles, smiling about the last rant Stiles sent him about something that happened at school and started with the only thing he had: the truth.

_‘Pack is concerned about you and just letting you know that we’re all here for you.’_

With that, he closed the app and went to the big freezer in the garage to pull out the steak for dinner. Since he was apparently hosting some of the deputies here in the house then he was going to have to get ready for that. He didn’t really know how to socialize anymore. It had been a long time and he actually felt like he had more in common with the teens than anyone in his own age group. But Derek appreciated the effort anyway.

His cellphone jangled again with Stiles’s voice saying ‘ _answer me’_ because Stiles was a lovable dork when he was seasoning the steaks and pealing cutting vegetables for a salad. He wiped his hands and picked it up.

_‘I have to go to the thing tonight at Lydia’s, I think if I start hiding now then I am going to just keep on hiding.’_

Derek nodded in response even though Stiles couldn’t see him. If Stiles wanted to go to Lydia’s house and hang out with his friends than Derek was going to support that. He responded, _‘if that’s what you want to do then I am not going to stop you. Of course, I’m not going to stop that, I mean. I will see you after school and before the party. Take care of you today.’_

He put the phone back down and went back to prepping what needed prepping, knowing that Stiles was at least in a place with a goodly portion of the pack as well as Echo. He may be struggling with getting back to school but he wasn’t alone and Stiles knew it.

Just after school let out, Stiles texted Derek to let him know he was on the way home with Boyd and a few others. They were coming to see him before the party. Lydia had to get ready and Allison was going over there early to help. That’s what they agreed to anyway.

About ten minutes later the jeep came into the driveway and everyone stumbled into the front door. Stiles and Echo first, then Boyd and Erica with Isaac in tow. Derek nodded to them and Stiles released Echo from service before walking over and pressing a kiss to Derek’s cheek. Derek smiled a little at the touch and rubbed his thumb over Stiles’s arm.

“Whatcha doin?” Stiles asked, looking over the mess of cooking in front of him, “We aren’t eating here, Lydia is ordering a bunch of takeout for the party.”

“I know, your dad asked if he could invite a couple people over tonight. Apparently, he wants me to meet some people my age.”

Stiles took a half step back and Derek flinched a little but then he countered, “That’s great. Having friends is a good thing. A great thing!”

Derek frowned, “Is there a reason I shouldn’t have it? Did you want me to go with you or something? I can reschedule or cancel or something?”

Stiles shook his head, “Don’t you dare. What did Dr Marcus say about this? She said that its healthy to do things on our own. Its going to make us better. Where did Dad find people your age to hang with anyway?”

Before Derek could answer Stiles figured it out as per usual.

“His deputies, a couple of them are in their twenties. Oh my god I am so sad I am going to miss out on watching you try to befriend a bunch of cops,” Stiles laughed and Derek didn’t even really mind that he was being laughed at. At least Stiles was okay with this. It was hard for both of them to learn and do new things. Especially ‘healthy’ things. And deputies are people too, he must have something in common with them.

Right?

Stiles sidled up to him and tucked his good arm around Derek’s waist, “Is there anything to eat that isn’t being saved for your new friends?”

Derek rolled his eyes and pointed to the covered tray on the counter and the betas all fell on it like a pack of wolves. Derek cleared his throat and at the sound, they handed a couple of the muffins to Stiles before the rest of them started devouring their stolen treats. Derek smiled and ignored them while they made a mess of themselves and moaned at the taste of the muffins. They weren’t special by human standards, but he knew how to use real vanilla in muffins instead of extracts that are more chemical than natural. He did the same with cinnamon and other tastes added to food. Once upon a time, Derek’s family had an herb garden and maybe he could have something like that again. Who knows? Derek didn’t really make plans until now.

Stiles came back to the table and sat down, “Do you know who Dad is inviting?”

Derek shrugged and Stiles waggled his brows before he pulled out his phone and pushed a couple buttons before he started to speak, “Who are you foisting on Derek tonight?”

Derek frowned at the teenager, “Really Stiles?”

Stiles held a finger up to silence him and the betas snickered a little behind their full mouths. Derek glared at them but none of them were kowtowed, not that he wanted them to be. That whole ‘ _Respect me, I’m the alpha’_ ’ was mostly a fucked-up Peter thing. It happened in packs, made ones that exist because someone killed their alpha, but Derek didn’t want to be that kind of alpha. They just kept grinning and Stiles put his phone down while he waited for a response.

“I think he’s going to invite Tara; she was always really close to my family and she hasn’t really been invited over for a long time.”

“Tara?” Derek asked.

“Deputy Graeme, she’s close to your age and she’s really nice. She used to help me with my homework, she stayed with me a lot when my mom was getting worse. Well, when I wasn’t at the hospital or with Melissa.”

Derek nodded, wiped his hands and pressed a comforting hand to Stiles’s shoulder. He still didn’t like to talk about his mother’s death and Derek completely understands that so anytime Stiles was willing to be vulnerable, he would support and appreciate.

Stiles nodded and smiled, picking another bite of muffin and popping it into his mouth. “There are a couple of new guys that just transferred in, I don’t know much about them but many of the deputies are closer to Dad’s age so I’m guessing they aren’t coming here.”

Derek shrugged; he didn’t know. Derek was trusting Noah to invite people to this thing. He didn’t really know if he was going to have a new best friend out of this either way. He carried on with what he was doing while Boyd, Isaac and Erica settled in with Stiles to get a jump on their homework while they griped about Mr. Harris who was being a pill this late in the semester and they were struggling with his intense homework assignments. Derek didn’t know the guy obviously but it seemed like he really shouldn’t be a teacher with how much he clearly _despised_ teenagers.

It didn’t take long before they were talking about the pool party and what they thought it was going to be like. Derek listened as he continued to putter around the kitchen. Stiles wasn’t really popular until now; Isaac, Boyd and Erica hadn’t really experienced that sort of thing either. Erica was excited but terrified about what she was going to wear (apparently Allison and Lydia both had options for her), Boyd wasn’t popular before the bite and didn’t really feel popular now in spite of the popular people he was now surrounded by and Isaac was the gravedigger’s child. Isaac was the abused kid of a failed coach.

Derek didn’t know what to think about what this night was going to be for any of them.

Stiles’s phone jingled a little later and he turned to look at Derek with the phone in front of him, “Apparently I was right. Tara is coming over as well as the new guys who just transferred in. Call me if you need some sort of ‘emergency’ we can cook up at the pool party.”

“Don’t you dare,” Derek said, pointing a butter knife in Stiles’s general direction, “I am not going to watch your dad have some kind of panic attack if you say ‘emergency’ on the phone. And I definitely wouldn’t tell him either. I can deal with a couple of new people, no emergency needed.”

Stiles snickered and tapped something out in reply to his dad.

Once the steaks were broiling and the potatoes were baking in the oven, Derek joined Stiles on the couch and he invited the gangly human to sprawl all over his lap. Stiles rubbed his good hand over Derek’s knuckles, his wrist and really any patch of skin that he could while writing notes and jotting answers and notes all over their homework. They kept that up for another half hour when all of their phones started jangling making Derek jump a little. Stiles soothed him a little and they all started getting ready to head out. Derek smiled, rubbing his fingers over offered wrists or throats just so they would have a little bit of alpha scent with them. Stiles stayed in his lap while they grabbed any remaining snacks they could pillage and headed for the vehicles.

Stiles twisted and pressed a hand to Derek’s cheek, “You let me know if you need me?”

Derek nodded, “You too?”

Stiles pressed a little kiss to the corner of Derek’s mouth and he leaned into it, pressing his head into Stiles’s face reveling in the moment and the kindness and the connection with his mate.

Derek smiled a little, _mate,_ it wasn’t the first time he’d thought it and known it to be true with Stiles. Of course, Stiles probably wondered and knew about it well before Derek did. And it wasn’t the time to talk about it now. Instead if tightened a hand across Stiles’s lower back and whispered into his skin, “Be safe. I need to know that you are going to be okay.”

Stiles nodded, rubbing his face over Derek’s beard a little, “I am going to have Echo with me and I am not getting in the pool. I am going to have the whole pack. You be safe.”

Derek grinned, pressing a kiss to Stiles’s ear, “I am the alpha and I am going to be in the house of the Sheriff and several of his well-trained deputies.”

Stiles chuckled and Isaac bounced back into the house, “ _Stiles! I need to go_ to this party now! Come on!”

Derek shoved Stiles gently upright and out of his lap and patted him on the back before sending the two teenagers out of the house and to their little pool party thing. He headed back to the kitchen and made sure everything was ready to go.

By the time Noah came home, followed in by other vehicles, Derek was fidgeting about the plates and glasses around the table. Left wondering why he was so worried about this, like they were going to suddenly decide after the fact that he _had_ killed his sister if he didn’t have the table set well. Derek took a deep breath, feeling the burn, belatedly realizing he must have been holding his breath for too long.

Noah opened the door and smiled in Derek’s general direction. “Hey Der, it smells great in here.”

Derek warmed at the nickname and then bristled as the other walked in. They weren’t dressed in their uniforms but the smell of guns and oil, they carried themselves in this way that made Derek want to hunch in on himself. There were two men and a woman that he recognized as Tara. He’d seen her around the station and she was always with Noah. She was important to Stiles and Noah so he welcomed them into his chosen den even though he wanted to kick them out. It was Noah’s home and he was trying to do something nice for Derek and he trusted these people. Derek could trust Noah.

“We have some food, there are drinks in the refrigerator.”

Noah hung up all the coats, one after the other, and started the introductions, “This is Tara Graeme,” she nodded towards Derek. “This is Jason Strauss, he is a new transplant from a couple towns over, he’s been with us for about six months now.” The man nodded, he was about Derek’s height and not as wide across the shoulders but still a solid person. He smiled at Derek and brought in a covered bowl of something. Derek accepted it and found it to be some sort of tossed salad. Derek smiled a little in gratitude.

Noah introduced the last, “This is Jordan Parrish, he has been in the force for a little over two weeks and really new to the area. I thought maybe he could use a friend as well?”

Derek nodded to everyone and grabbed the food stuffs they were bringing in. There was the salad from Strauss, brownies from Tara who made them appear out of her coat or something. Derek didn’t see and they were store bought but it was a kind gesture and Parrish handed over a couple tubs of macaroni salad and mashed potatoes.

Derek pointed at the Sheriff, “You know if you have both of these and not some of the salad that Stiles is going to make you eat veggie burgers for the next week.”

Everyone chuckled and Noah glared at Derek good naturedly, “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt me.”

Derek scoffed, “You think I can lie to him because seriously man, you have forgotten who your son is for the moment.”

The laughter started up again and Noah waved him off and they all started dishing up some food and before Derek even had a chance to wonder what he was going to eat; Stiles was texting him to send a picture of his dad’s plate. Derek turned the phone towards the Sheriff and he rolled his eyes and gestured to the plate magnanimously.

Derek took a picture of the portions and sent it to Stiles, then asked why he was texting instead of hanging with his friends. He shoved the phone into his pocket and loaded one of the large steaks onto the plate and a little of everything their guests brought.

 

~~~

 

After Derek sent Stiles the picture of his dad's meal, he filled his plate with a large steak, the one that he left rare for himself and grabbed a little bit of each thing the deputies brought to share and listened for a little while as Noah asked Strauss how he and his small family were settling into their place and how Parrish was doing since he came to town. Derek didn't really know what to say to any of them so he let Noah carry the conversational load.

Tara had a child who had been removed from her custody when she was much younger, amazingly enough she'd been sworn into a gang when she was younger than Derek had been at the time of the fire and she had a kid. The father used her gang affiliation and drug use to get the judge on his side and Tara had only gotten her young son back in the last couple months since she'd been clean and on the force for years. Noah had been hugely invested in helping her get her child back. Parrish seemed to be alone in the world and he'd been a military man and a bomb squad specialist.

Derek finally had to speak up, "Is there a lot of call for bomb squad guys in Beacon Hills?"

Noah and Parrish both shook their heads, "I actually moved here to get away from that sort of thing. I saw that they needed a couple deputies and dropped my name in the ring. I was pleased to learn I had an interview. I went through the extra training before I applied and here I am."

Derek nodded.

"So what do you do, Derek?" Strauss asked kindly and Derek froze with a forkful of food halfway to his lips.

Noah waited and said nothing, Derek tried desperately not to glare at him or whimper.

"Well," he put the fork back down on his plate and looked at these people that he didn't really know, "Umm for now I have been staying with the Sheriff and Stiles but before my sister died I had been planning to maybe go back to school. I don't really know what I am going to do now."

"Derek has helped Stiles and some of his classmates a lot, being kind of an older brother to them. Well its not like that with Stiles but the rest of them."

Tara leaned in a little, "So you are the boyfriend?"

Derek shrugged, saying nothing. He was the boyfriend and Tara was a close friend to the Sheriff but these were deputies and he was more than a little aware of Stiles's underage status and he didn't really need to bring that to anyone's attention.

Stiles had told him, Noah even told him, that as long as they didn't have sex then he wasn't in danger of any sort of ramifications and Derek knew that Stiles's birthday was looming and he didn't really want to think about what was going to happen after that. He wasn't ready for any of that at the moment. And definitely had no intention of talking about it right now.

Parrish changed the conversation after a moment of seemingly awkward silence, "Sorry to hear about the loss of your sister. I lost a brother a long time ago and it still hurts."

Derek nodded not willing to add on all the other losses he'd had in his life but he appreciated the kindness. Parrish seemed like a good guy but there was something odd about him. It was on the cusp of otherworldly but Derek didn't know by scent or anything else. He couldn't put a word to the feeling so he just refocused on the group. Noah looked at Derek, "If you decided to go back to school, what were you planning to go back for?"

Derek muttered something and all four of the other guests asked, "What was that?" in eerie synchronicity.

"I kind of wanted to do something other than some sort of sport, because I was so good in school that's what everyone wanted me to go to college for but I kind of hated it after Sophomore year. Maybe literature major. I don't really know anymore."

Noah watched him for a moment, "You got time kiddo, why don't I get you some brochures from some of the nearby colleges and you can definitely get Stiles to help you do some research. it's never too late to figure out you want to do something different with your life and time."

Derek smiled a little and the others were watching Noah during the interaction and he could scent the wonder and pride they felt for Noah. It was easy to see and smell how much they respected Noah as the Sheriff but seeing him here as a family man, even with someone who wasn't his kid maybe it was a layer that they were happy to see. At least they didn't laugh at the kindness he was showing Derek, the grown ass man dating his son. Tara was watching them both very closely and Derek was left squirming under the wolf-like intensity she was sending over at them.

The dinner continued on, they all chatted about their families (Derek didn’t get to involved with the fire information but they were all aware of who he was except Parrish), they talked about what they enjoyed doing when they weren’t working or whatever (‘I cook’ Derek shared with them). And inevitably they ended up chatting about what it was like to be a deputy in Beacon Hills.

“I mean most of the time its speed traps and breaking up the teenagers at the various kissing places but then there is the weird crap that happens here sometimes.”

Noah hummed in agreement and didn’t stop them, Derek didn’t say anything while Tara and Strauss filled Parrish in on the weird goings-on in town, talking about the deaths that Peter inflicted and then the Kanima and how weird all those things were.

“I mean but every town has it’s oddities, right?” Parrish asked and Derek kind of smiled because the guy was trying to make the weirdest shit sound ‘normal’, it was sorta sweet.

Tara and Strauss were the first to bow out, they had kids at home that they needed to get back to and they all waved them off with thanks and invitations back. Derek didn’t really think he was going to be inviting them back on his own but having Noah there as a buffer made the evening more than palatable.

Noah, Parrish and Derek were left sitting there together and before it got more uncomfortable, Derek started cleaning the table.

“I can do that, you made everything, just sit down,” Noah said and started picking up the plates and leaving Derek no other choice than to sit down and face off with Jordan Parrish, the newest deputy in Beacon Hills.

“If it wasn’t for the fact that I am straight and you are seeing his son, I would assume the Sheriff was playing matchmaker.”

Derek snorted an unexpected laugh and he covered his mouth and nose in embarrassment, “It does seem like that a little. It’s just because he worries about me and Stiles. He wants me to have a little bit of normal in my life, not that I am capable of having normal. Like, at all.”

Jordan frowned at him, "That seems a little glass completely empty. Aren't you a little young for that kind of mentality?"

Derek rolled his eyes, "You said you lost someone, a brother?"

Jordan nodded, "Yeah, it was a weird thing and there was no way to save him. It was hard and sadly it tore apart my family."

"Are you capable of normal? Like really? Since that happened?" Derek asked.

Jordan shrugged, "A different kind of normal I guess but yes."

Derek didn't like the idea of comparing his loss to someone else's to make a point so he wouldn't. "I guess I just don’t think that anything is ever going to be the same or normal again. Then again, my family was always a little weird.”

“Then maybe you don’t need to be normal at all,” Jordan said with a grin.

Derek thought about Stiles and the little world that he was currently swirling around in and figured the guy had a point. He had something good here.

“So you think you ever want to go for a beer sometime? When we aren’t being hooked up by your boyfriend’s dad?” Jordan asked with a smirk.

Derek fidgeted a little in his chair, “And do what? Its not like we really figured out if we have anything in common.”

“We can talk,” Jordan laughed. “Maybe we will figure it out. Maybe you can share something and I can share something then we shall see if there is something we have in common.”

Derek nodded, mostly because he didn’t know what to say. How did he make friends when he was younger anyway? How did he make the friends he had now?

Oh _right,_ Stiles helped make him all these friends.

Goodness he was a disaster.

“Are you sure you want to make a friend, like with me?” Derek muttered and looked at the other man.

Jordan grinned, like a weird sunshine person and Derek forced his face _not to_ snarl at Jordan for being so chirpy. It was different from Stiles because they both knew the kind of issues that Stiles had and the humor, he had was usually a deflection but he didn’t know anything about this guy and seriously Derek didn’t know how he was going to have anything in common with him.

“Just write your number down on a napkin, I think the poor guy has had enough,” Noah shouted from the kitchen, making Derek jump. He knew that Noah was there but he’d been too focused on not glaring at Jordan for being so happy about this.

Jordan smiled again, wrote his number down and headed for the door. Derek sat at the table and stared at the little scrap of paper for a long time before Noah sat down across from him wearing a little grin that Derek didn’t know what to do with.

“What?” Derek snarled a little.

Noah didn’t even blink, raising a brow just a little in question, “You don’t have to be best buds or anything. Just go have a beer and be a normal guy, okay?”

Derek nodded, “Yeah, fine. I just. I just, you know, suck at this.”

Noah leaned forward and gripped Derek’s wrist gently in one hand, “You don’t always have to suck at this but you are going to have to try to get better.”

“Can’t I just have my betas and be happy with that?”

Noah shrugged, “I guess,” he gave another squeeze to Derek’s wrist, “But then where would my wife have been if she didn’t have a friend like your mom?”

Derek thought about that, thought about the friendships that his parents had built just for the sake of building them and nodded. “I guess you have a point. He seems like a good guy, but why does he have to be so cheerful?”

Noah chuckled, “Why do you have to be so grumpy?”

Derek growled and Noah just kept laughing, “I’m the alpha,” he said—well he pouted.

“Yes son, you are, but you are also a grumpy Gus who could probably use a weirdly cheerful friend like Parrish. Go out for one beer and see if you have anything in common. If you don’t then at least you know you tried.”

“Why aren’t you trying to set me up on friend dates with Tara and that guy Strauss?”

Noah shrugged, “You can get to know them too but I imagined the kid thing would be a little too much of a difference of life and everything. Tara is amazing though; she is so strong and has come through so many things.”

Derek shrugged; he didn’t think Noah was wrong but for some reason Tara was compelling. And she wasn’t chipper.

Wow, that was a real issue for Derek.

“Stiles is going to laugh and laugh and laugh about this,” Derek groaned.

Noah grinned, “Only because he loves you. Like a lot.”

Derek smiled a little, “Yeah, that’s true.”

Noah tapped the table a little, “I’m going to finish cleaning up in the kitchen, why don’t you check with Stiles and see how the party is going.”

Derek nodded and grabbed his phone to send the message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so the stupid plan for this fic was like a fun little fic for between the seasons and there is a lot of stuff that's suddenly happening and I don't know what to do. I have like 26,000 words written and suddenly I have no idea what to do.
> 
> I don't like putting this kind of thing out there for my readers because I want you to just enjoy the fic and not see all the behind the scenes crap that goes along with this series.
> 
> Anyway, let me know if this plot heavy fic which was not what I promised at the end of Season two is still okay and you guys are still going to be with me for season three.....
> 
> Hugs and virtual kisses for all of you.


	3. Old Friends New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter, it was amazing to get that outpouring of support. It really helped and I am still replying individually to comments but here is a new chapter.   
> :)   
> <3   
> <3

The drive over to Lydia’s house was filled with excited chatter and checking to be sure they have everything (bathing suits and extra clothes for the ride back, towels were going to be provided by the Martins). According to the talk at school, there was definitely going to be more than just the pack there despite the fact that they were supposed to be alone.

Stiles rubbed a hand over Echo’s head, using the soft warmth of her body and the repetitive motion to calm his jangled nerves. He had no intention of letting his weird codependency ruin this for all of his friends, Stiles would just find some place to sit and chat with one or two people at a time.

He could do this.

Stiles was _not_ going to freak out. He was going to be a normal fucking teenager going to a cool kids party.

They were going to have a great time and he was going to have a healthy separation from Derek for a few hours then he was going to tell Dr. Marcus and make her give him a freaking gold star for this shit! Especially when all he wanted to do was get out of the vehicle and run home to watch Derek struggle to make friends his own age or watch his dad and what the man was going to eat at this little cop dinner party.

They arrived in front of the large house and there were several more cars in the lane than they were expecting. “Oh boy.”

“So, does small party mean something different to people like Lydia and Jackson or is this more than we were expecting?” Boyd asked and Stiles forced a laugh that sounded more manic than anything, coughed and tried to hide just how much he _didn’t want to do this!_ Boyd shrugged and parked the vehicle and they piled out and headed for the door. Stiles gripped Echo’s leash and looked around, trying to see if he recognized the vehicles. Danny’s was there and Jackson’s Porsche. Allison’s car was there as well as Lydia’s, there were two motorcycles that weren’t at all familiar as well as some others that he didn’t really recognize except they all were usually at the school during the day. Couldn’t say who they belonged to because none of them were friends.

Maybe the other lacrosse players? It would have been basically impossible to stop them from being at a party where Jackson and Danny were in attendance and Lydia wasn’t a cheerleader but there was probably going to be some of them there as well.

The door opened before they got to it and Erica squealed excitedly when Allison and Lydia dragged her upstairs with barely a wave in the direction of Stiles and the others. Clearly helping Erica pick something to wear was more important than common curtesy. The guys all shrugged and walked through the front door.

Isaac and Boyd were both wearing swim trunks under their clothes and Stiles didn’t really have anything because he couldn’t get the brace or his stitches wet, but he was wearing shorts so he could dangle his feet in the pool.

Lydia waved them back towards the yard as she was running up the stairs. Stiles had only been here a couple times but that was more than Boyd and Isaac so he led the way. Jackson and Danny waved at them, “Hey guys, change your clothes and get in here!” Danny shouted.

Echo watched the others for moment so Stiles tugged on her leash and moved to sit down on the edge of one of the loungers near the pool, looking around to see who he recognized.

Most of the lacrosse players were indeed here in the backyard, some with drinks and others holding towels from recent dips in the pool. There were some girls around as well, chatting and laughing. There was flirting going on, some drinking and mostly just teenage normalcy happening all over the place and Stiles didn’t know how to join in. Even before his life became supernaturally abnormal, his life hadn’t been normal since his mother died and he’d never really been a joiner anyway.

He grabbed his cell phone and demanded Derek send him a picture of his dad’s plate before looking around again. Echo was staring off into the crowd at a couple of the guys, they looked older and completely unfamiliar. There was a dark-haired girl standing with them and she wasn’t familiar either though Stiles didn’t think that was really abnormal for a party in since a small district. Maybe. He hadn’t really been in enough parties to really say one way or the other.

And the two stranger guys were twins. Stiles didn't recall the last time he'd seen twins but there were none at Beacon Hills High School. He would have remembered that. They had a muscular upper torso and a lithe figure, strong and looked way too old to be at a Sophomore's party in a small town. Stiles was definitely staring and he should stop but the hair on his arms were rising and the shiver down his spine was like the opposite of a good sign but he wasn't supposed to be worrying about threats tonight. Gerard was dead, Kate was dead, Jackson wasn't the Kanima anymore. Not even Scott was causing issues here anymore because he’d been sent away to werewolf bootcamp. Stiles was probably just being paranoid, after all; someone had been after him. this was just left-over triggers and trauma. Tonight, was about fun. 

They were supposed to be having pack / high school tomfoolery around a pool.

"Hunky, aren't they?" someone asked and Stiles jumped in surprise and almost fell off the lounger when the person steadied him with a hand on his shoulder. His blood was rushing in his ears as he set a calming hand on Echo who was growling and shoving herself bodily between Stiles and the stranger while she was still apologizing. 

But it wasn't a stranger, Stiles knew that voice even though it had been ages since he'd seen her. "Heather?" he asked.

She smiled and looked nervously down at Echo, "Is she going to eat my face if I hug you?"

Stiles murmured a gentle command to the dog so she went back to sitting next to Stiles and watching the twins. Stiles held his good arm out so Heather could give him an awkward hug before she settled on the other lounger. "How did you hear about this?" Stiles asked her, still more nervous than excited about the whole thing.

"Well, there is a twitter account that kind of sends out things like this but the only reason I came was because I heard that you might be here."

Stiles frowned, "I'm tweet-worthy?"

Heather waggled her eyebrows and Stiles smiled a little as he looked her over, "For sure." She had light brown hair, curled around her face and beautifully highlighted, clearly spending at least some of her allowance money on the salon. She was wearing a little bit of makeup, cheeks a little rosy and lips a little wet. She was wearing a pretty sundress and clearly had a two piece on underneath. She still had a little bit of that ‘baby fat’ making her endearingly imperfect instead of fat or unattractive. He wondered why she was here and why she cared about him enough to follow some tweets that could talk about him.

"It was mostly because you were tagged or something. I don't know why specifically, just because you apparently are friends with a 'RedGoddessLydia' and a 'GayLacrosseHottie'," Heather said and Stiles rolled his eyes at the names though Lydia's left him wondering where she got that because Stiles was usually the one calling her that.

"Yeah, this turned into a much bigger deal then it was supposed to be and now we know why,” Stiles said with a shake of his head. “Anyway, how you been?"

"Doing okay, school has been weird since we moved but I figured this might be a good opportunity to come see you in a setting where you could tell me to take a hike if you wanted to," heather said it with a laugh but it felt wrong to laugh back. There was a lot of hurt there, and Stiles deserved every little bit of guilt over the fact that one of his best and longest friends had been pushed aside after his mom died and Scott wanted to be bros more. Stiles had gotten so used to seeing Scott at the hospital and Melissa had become a confidante and support for his dad that Stiles had just drifted away from friends like heather.

"I wouldn't tell you to take a hike. Did you come here alone?" Stiles asked, looking around again. Echo was still watching those twins with intent eyes even while she stayed at attention for Stiles's needs. Stiles patted her head a little, making her large ears wobble and straighten at the attention.

"I came here with my friend Danielle; she still goes to Beacon Hills with you."

Stiles looked to where she was pointing to see Danielle, and she was familiar but not well known to him. Stiles nodded to her then refocused on Heather. "Glad you aren't alone coming here from your place. It has to be a bit of a drive since you are going to the (other school) this year."

Heather nodded then leaned in closer to him to whisper though he wanted to tell her there was no point with all the werewolves around, "I read about you in the paper, how are you doing after all that?"

Stiles shrugged his good shoulder, twitching with the sudden desire to itch under the brace, "You know, getting kidnapped, molested and electrocuted wasn't enough. Getting shot really made my year, ya know?"

Heather reached out and took his hand, squeezed gently. "I'm glad you're still alive. I wanted to connect with you again but it was hard after we were separated every day."

Stiles nodded; he didn't really have anything to say. She wasn't around when his world changed.

Stiles didn't know what to say to her, heather wasn't around when his entire world changed. Heather wasn't around when Scott was changed or anything after that. She was here now but having a friend outside the pack felt dangerous, even if it wasn't. He didn't know if he could keep her from getting hurt if she became his friend, Stiles could still see Danny, Jackson and Lydia in the hospital fighting for their lives. He felt the bullet hitting him, sense memory sliding back through getting shocked and pissing himself. His eyes glazed over, seeing nothing but Kate's twisted smile and felt her hands all over him.

"Stiles? Stiles! STILES!?!" someone shouted and he jerked away from the hands on his shoulder and his arm. Why was she yelling his name? Kate never yelled his name, she always purred it in this seductive tone that just came off perverted. "What did you do to him?" Kate screamed at him and Stiles frowned. 

That wasn't right.

Stiles snapped back to the present just as Echo shoved Heather and her friend back bodily with a growl and Allison and Isaac were holding his hands and trying to comfort him. Stiles immediately pulled Echo back and thankfully the pack's reflexes kept the confused humans from landing ass first in the pool but Boyd and Jackson were walking them away from Stiles even while Heather called that she was sorry and she didn't mean it. Stiles couldn't breathe, sucking in a breath made him feel like his lungs were on fire. he ended up hacking, leaning down to put his head between his legs while Allison sat down next to him and held him gently to work through it. He gripped her hand tightly and tried to breathe.

"Oh god oh god oh god!" he whispered screamed and inhaled sharp enough it sounded like a cry and before he could figure out what was happening, they were lifting him up from the lounger and taking him inside the house. Someone was on the phone but it was far off and he didn't think the other person was picking up.

Lydia sounded upset and done at the same time. Not a good place for any of them to be. 

Thinking about his friends surrounding him, Allison holding his hand and Isaac telling him when to breath in and out, Stiles slowly but surely came out of the panic attack with black spots in his vision and a wobble in his step. Stiles tried to rub his hand over his head but Allison was still holding it. 

"Okay, that's good Stiles. you are doing so good," she whispered then pressed a quick glossy kiss to the side of his head and Stiles finally took a full breath. 

After another five minutes he was able to look around and say, "That really sucks."

Allison hiccup-laughed and the others loosened in the shoulders and the tension in the people around him calmed by a large margin. "Okay, Derek didn't pick up so I'm guessing he turned his phone off or maybe accidentally silenced it but I think it’s time for Stiles to head back home," Lydia said and Stiles agreed even though he thought she was trying to sound a little too motherly for her ice queen prom princess image. He would tease her later. 

After he slept for a year.

"I can take him home," Boyd said and everyone nodded and started to disperse. Allison stayed glued to his side, little quavers rushing through her body every once in a while, and Stiles squeezed her hand in comfort. He was going to be fine, panic attacks aside.

"What happened?" Allison whispered gently.

"Just a wicked fucking flashback," Stiles responded and nuzzled his forehead and nose into Allison's shoulder.

"That was a bad one, it smelled exactly like we were back in the yard again with Kate. God, Stiles, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that my family did this to you and I am so desperately sorry that she was still around to shoot you."

Stiles huffed, "It's not your fault. and I am going to have a long conversation with you about this later when I don't feel like I’ve been hit by a werewolf."

Boyd snorted at the Stiles-esque turn-of-phrase and moved to help Stiles to his feet with Allison's help. They got him and Echo out to the Jeep and piled in. Stiles leaned against the window of the back seat, rubbing Echo's head and side while taking one deep breath after another. He hoped that Derek wasn’t too upset that they all teamed up to get him out of the house only to ruin his evening of making friends.

The drive was made in silence though no one seemed angry about this.

Stiles let Boyd help him out of the jeep and by the time his feet were touching the ground, Derek was next to them demanding what was wrong.

"He had a panic attack," Boyd responded calmly. Stiles took the moment to tuck his nose into Derek's warm throat before the alpha hitched him up against him and helped Stiles into the house and settled him on the couch with an air of ‘doting boyfriend’ about him. Dad was there and frowning but seemed more or less calm in the face of another attack and Stiles took in a relieved breath because he didn't think he could deal with Dad and Derek freaking out.

"Okay, you're fine though right? Like this sucks but you were safe with the pack? Do I have to kill anyone?"

Stiles snorts, "Please don't," he took a deep steadying breath and spoke, "I was just talking to a childhood friend that ended up going to another school and we lost touch. She found out that I was going to the party through Lydia and Danny's tweets and decided to talk to me. Something about the conversation sent me into a panic attack and Allison and everyone got me out of there but I'm sure there is going to be even more opinions and rumors about how fucked I am."

Derek pressed a gentle hand to Stiles's shoulder, "Don't worry about what they are going to say. I should have realized that this was a bad idea and fought for you to stay here. Ugh!" Derek grunted aggressively and Stiles couldn't help but think he'd been spending too much time with expressive teenagers and it was adorable. But also concerning since Derek was blaming himself for something that Stiles did to himself. 

"Hey, I decided to go against everyone's concerns; that's on me big guy."

Derek muttered and Boyd snorted so Stiles was sure that he wasn't agreeing with Stiles's logic. He had no intention of letting Alpha Derek 'Just crucify me already!' Hale take responsibility for this. But Dad spoke up before Stiles could work through the fog in his brain left over from all the endorphins from the panic attack.

"Take it from me, Derek, when Stiles decides to do something it’s on no one but him." Dad responded.

Stiles rolled his eyes, "Thanks a lot Dad."

"Speaking the truth son," Dad responded, waving a hand at them. 

"I didn't say it was a lie but damn, way to go throwing me under the bus."

Dad raised a brow at Stiles for this while shaking his head in obvious humor, though Stiles knew that he was still concerned. Dad knew how to read the room and Stiles was going to get a fatherly talking to later about this, but now his attention was on making sure that Stiles and Derek were doing okay. Because he was awesome like that. Stiles looked around, belatedly realizing there weren't any other people in the house. 

"Did your dinner go okay? Did you make fast friends? BBF’s? Have you replaced me?" Stiles asked and Derek glared at him for changing the subject but it was a plain ordinary panic attack, not fun but also not life threatening. And Stiles didn't want to focus on it. Not right now anyway. He wanted to focus on the jokes he was going to make about Derek making friends with a bunch of deputies because Dad didn't know anyone else in town either besides his son's friends' parents and the deputies.

"Dinner was fine, everyone was super nice despite the whole thing feeling like a weird blind date where no one was trying to date anyone else," Derek said and Dad snorted, "Parrish, the new guy in town kind of demanded that I be his friend so maybe I have a friend whether I want one or not."

Boyd looked at Derek, a little sullen and Stiles frowned, wondering what he smelled like right now. Derek was still glaring and watching Stiles as he paced. Stiles reached out with his good hand and invited Derek to sit with him on the couch. Derek immediately came to him and nestled in close, making Stiles's belly warm with affection. He knew that if he could just get back to the den and Derek and Dad that he was going to be just fine. He curled into Derek and demanded that he tell Stiles everything about his 'new friends' to which he rolled his eyes and conceded.

Boyd sat down in one of the other chairs and listened, Stiles watched him as covertly as he could, thinking this was a great distraction from all the mayhem of what happened at the party. 

Until Derek finished his truncated story about the dinner and turned the conversation back on him, "So you saw a friend? Was she the reason you were triggered?"

Stiles shook his head, "I mean not really, she was mentioning some of the things that happened and I was thinking about how we couldn't really be friends again like we used to be and it was like I was back in the yard being shot. It was just bizarre. Nothing overt that reminded me of Kate or the shooting but it was enough to slip down the slippery slope of a triggered attack. I didn't even know I was in the midst of an attack until people were yelling."

"Are you going to see her again? After this?" Boyd asked and Derek shifted a little to watch Stiles for an answer. Stiles knew Derek's eyes were on him, even though he couldn't actually see it.

"Why wouldn't I see her again? It wasn't her fault."

"Just, everything with the pack and your recovery, it might be a bit weird and too much for someone who isn't ‘in the know’." Derek responded and Stiles pulled away from him a little, frowning at the word choice.

"This situation might be too much or I might be too much?" he asked, feeling the hurt well up like blood on a wound ready to pour out all over everything.

Derek's eyebrows rose up and he darted a look over to Boyd then his eyes went searching for Dad before realizing belatedly that Stiles's dad wasn't in the living room or kitchen anymore. He looked back at Stiles after a minute and stuttered, "That's not what I meant. At all."

Stiles took a deep breath, trying to think of the methods he had been learning with Dr. Marcus to help in situations like this. Stiles knew this was leftover from the attack, feeling a little out of his depth and self-deprecating which was already one of his favorite defense mechanisms, "Sorry, I guess I’m still a little sensitive."

Derek hugged him close, "God Stiles, I swear I didn't mean it like that. If anyone were to think that about you, I would punch them in the face. You and all of this is never too much. I just suck at communicating."

Stiles nodded and said petulantly, "Yeah, I'm sure Boyd would agree."

Derek frowned at him again then looked over at Boyd, "What's happening right now?"

Stiles grumbled, shoving up off the couch and heading for the stairs, "I suck at this too," he shouted and called Echo to follow and headed for bed. If he was just going to keep sticking his foot in his mouth and taking everything to hard then it was time to sleep it the fuck off. "Talk. Don't talk. I'm sure you two will figure it out without me making it worse!"

with that, Stiles shut the door and flopped down on his bed, wincing when he realized that he flopped on his bad side. Stiles groaned, "FML, seriously."

 

 

Derek looked over at Boyd, "Is there something I need to know?" he asked the beta. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Boyd had needs too because he was so quiet and if Stiles's ramblings actually helped the other packmate then Derek would make sure to let him know.

Later. When Stiles wasn't dealing with the emotional leftovers of a panic attack and Derek wasn’t making sure his other betas’ needs were being met.

"I just thought maybe that we were friends, that _we_ were your friends," Boyd said after a couple minutes of silence. 

Derek slapped his face, wincing a little at his faux pas and a little bit of belated embarrassment that he’d chosen such an over the top Stiles-esque response to the situation. It was almost laughable and apparently Boyd thought so too, if the little smirk playing around his lips was an indication.

Boyd was right, Derek had pack mates that had been outsiders and alone before they found the pack, and especially Boyd who was actually removed from his hometown, family and the abusive alpha who bit him was still struggling to fit into the dynamic of the pack as well as a new home and school and town. Without meaning to, Derek had stepped all over that.

"Man, okay, so the Stiles thing wasn't really my thing but that I am sorry for. Of course, I'm your friend and I am your alpha and I am so happy that you are here because seriously Boyd, you are a lifesaver especially with Isaac and Erica. And I would never think of replacing you or wanting you to be less involved in my life or this pack, Noah just thought that it might be good if I had friends nearer my age and maybe even someone outside the pack because of my responsibilities to all of you which I thought was a good idea. He thought maybe it would be good for me and if I am telling the truth AKA don't tell Noah because he’s a good man and I don’t know how to tell him this; I didn't really feel like I had anything in common with any of them. I don’t remember the last time I had friends let alone friends outside the pack. Maybe when I was fifteen and I was involved in basketball but I had to hide the werewolf thing so they weren’t that close."

Boyd stared at Derek for a minute, silence in the room acting as a comfort rather than an awkward lack of chatter. Derek really liked that about Boyd, that they could talk or say nothing and it felt okay. He looked back towards the stairs when Stiles started shifting around, kicking off his jeans by the sounds he was making but he wasn't saying anything and his heart was relatively calm. Noah was in his study, tapping away at something on the computer.

"This pack means so much to me," Boyd said after a couple more minutes and Derek looked at him but didn't interrupt. Boyd was staring at something in the kitchen, probably just focusing on something so he could talk about this, "I came from an alpha that was abusive and hurt me when he was turning me and after. I had a family that would rather see me dead than be different. When I came here, even after seeing Dr. Marcus who helped me a lot with the transition; I still really struggled with knowing that I was anything but a victim and a monster which was kind of a shitty place to be, you know? I was victimized but I was also one bad moon away from killing someone and I couldn't stand it. I hated that about becoming a werewolf so in some ways I am a lot like Scott."

Derek nodded; it had been a long time since he didn't have good control but he remembered those times like it was yesterday. And feeling like he was a monster, he was born a werewolf and he had a loving family and a patient alpha for the formative years and Kate still made him feel worthless, she'd still made him feel gross and broken and evil. Mercy killing Paige when she was dying made him feel like a monster long before Kate fucked him in the head.

Scott even made him feel that way in the beginning, before Stiles started whispering his kindness and matter-of-fact rationale in his ear. "I get that," he whispered, hoping it wouldn't knock Boyd off track. this was important, this was Boyd's past and history and it wasn't something that he'd been very forthcoming about since he got here. Derek knew that he was still seeing Dr. Marcus and he was sure Boyd was talking to her but this was different.

This was trust.

"When you told me the truth, that you were learning how to be an alpha and I learned a little more about you; I was impressed and in awe that you were still capable of kindness but I wasn't blowing smoke up your ass about knowing that you were screwed up too and that you were going to mess this up from time to time. Having an alpha willing to be wrong and imperfect is actually comforting. You were forgiving with Scott even though I don't think he deserved anything after what he did to you and to Stiles but you were also firm when you needed to be. I don't know much about alphas since I’ve only known two, but I think you are going to be a great one. You're doing great already, especially having had new betas recently. I mean the full moon run was... exhilarating but it was also comforting knowing that everyone around me was there to protect me and I was going to protect them. That's a powerful thing."

"That's what pack is for me and it means everything to me too. This dinner wasn't about getting away from you guys; it was about not making everything about being the perfect leader. My mother had friends, albeit they were mostly werewolves but the concept was the same. She had people that she trusted to talk about things that weren't about the people she was responsible for. Maybe I might have a friend in Parrish but it’s not about them being better or more important than you guys."

Boyd nodded, "I know that, like I get that but it was like weird to think that I was feeling a little crappy about you making friends. Like maybe we weren't enough for you?"

Derek took a deep breath through his nose, taking in all the natural scents of the den and Boyd and he could smell it: the little bit of hurt that was tinged with a lot of shame. “I know what you mean, that’s pretty normal, I think. I’m glad that you said something. We are always going to have plenty of time together if I have my way and you are one of the best friends that I have in my world right now so I hope you can continue to spend time with the other betas and with me and I can spend a little time trying to have friendships outside the pack but its not going to be if that hurts you or the others.”

“Sounds good,” Boyd said with a little smile.

“So, what was it like? The party?”

Boyd’s smile grew and he huffed, “Well the others are still there having what seems like the time of their lives. Especially Erica who seems to be hitting on everyone ever. It was interesting but there were people there from other schools and just a lot of strangers. I might be a bit of a wet blanket but I was glad that Stiles needed to get out of there when he did. I was way out of my element. I don’t mind the pack, making friends and not being alone all the time but this was just not the same.”

Derek vaguely remembered parties from the popular kids, even being one himself because of the werewolf reflexes on the basketball court and he got it.

“Well I’m guessing that with people like Lydia, Danny and Jackson involved, the party was going to be more ‘popular’ than pack. Maybe we will all have to figure out how to have friends outside and inside the pack.”

Boyd nodded, “I am glad that Erica and Isaac had the chance to be there, they seem to be having a great time there. They are handling the wolfy stuff well enough to just enjoy themselves which is kind of amazing considering how young they are.”

Derek smiled, “They deserve to have a little bit of teenage normalcy and of everyone in the pack they probably have really struggled a lot in this town with their own personal demons.” He paused as Stiles started making little grunting sounds and there was just a hint of pain in the sound so he changed the subject. “I think I am going to make sure that Stiles isn’t sleeping on his arm. Are you going to be okay?”

Boyd snorted, “Of course I’m okay. Goodnight Derek.”

“Goodnight B,” Derek responded and walked upstairs to make sure that Stiles wasn’t going to hurt himself while sleeping off the panic attack.


	4. Tête-à-Tête

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some one on one interaction of packmates and a little cameo of Scott at the end. On the phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is spending holiday time with people you love and who love you. I appreciate every single one of you and I am so pleased to be continuing this series with you. Happy Merry Everything!!!

Allison watched as Boyd and Echo book-ended Stiles out of the house and ushered him into the jeep before she turned back to the girl he'd been talking to. She wasn't familiar but apparently, she knew Stiles before Scott and the werewolf stuff which made her a great possible friend except, she'd been a little pushy and she smelled of arousal and want. And she wouldn’t be in the know about werewolves, which could be a pro and a con when it came to any of them but especially motor-mouth Stiles Stilinski.

Allison didn’t like the fact that the girl seemed to want Stiles for more than friendship even though she knew about Derek because everyone who's anyone knew about Derek (maybe not by name or anything but knew of him). It wasn’t because Stiles was shitty or blabbering about it (Stiles being underage and not wanting Derek to get into trouble was a big reason to keep it on the DL) but because Derek had shown up at the school with Stiles and he’d been around a lot recently. There were even Instagram pictures of them at the dance which was more adorable than smoldering because they had both been awkward ducks about their pre-relationship situation.

It wasn't a secret, not really.

And yet the girl wanted him anyway.

That made Allison metaphorical and literal hackles rise but she had to play this cool. She couldn't be the protective beta right now especially because it would play off as the ‘jealous girlfriend’ who wasn’t his girlfriend and would just confuse the issue even more. She needed to be Stiles's friend who was willing to hear the girl out.

Heather, the name that Stiles blurted out, walked over to Lydia and Allison after the commotion settled and asked, "Is he going to be okay?"

"Yes," Allison said, not willing to say anything else. Lydia stood off to the side a little, waiting to see if she needed anything. Allison was perfectly fine handling this and Lydia was more than okay with playing the snobby ice queen to the newcomer. 

"I don't know what happened, it was like he just freaked out."

"It's called a panic attack, happens with trauma and I’m guessing you know all about his trauma. From the news anyway," Lydia snarked and Heather flinched a little because again _everyone_ within several counties are aware of Stiles’s issues and how he came to have them. Multiple news stories plus the Argent family had attempted to put up a fight in the media despite the recorded confession Derek had gotten when she tried to torture him. 

"I'm sorry," she shuffled her foot a little then asked, "When could I see him again? Make sure that he's okay. I wasn't lying when I told him that I miss him. I still want to be his friend. This just seemed like the best opportunity to make a connection."

Allison shrugged, "Do you have his number?"

She shook her head, “I think we weren’t in the same school anymore by the time he got a cell phone.”

"You knew he was here, how?" Lydia asked, not having werewolf hearing was a bummer for their human pack mates sometimes and Allison hadn't really been able to fill her in on every detail before Stiles’ attack started. It had happened so quickly Allison hadn’t even known it was happening though Isaac had perked up pretty much immediately so maybe his nose knew better what that kind of anxiety and fear smelled like which seems to be a sad testament of his abusive home life.

"He was tagged in a tweet. It was one that was posted by; judging by your hair color, you and someone else."

Lydia nodded and Allison rolled her eyes, Lydia's obsession with social media was going to get them all in trouble. Danny's too. It's not like they were werewolves but seriously, they hang out with like _a LOT_ of werewolves. Allison was going to have to discuss it with Derek and Papa Stilinski. Who knew what the hell Danny and Lydia were going to say for the sake of their followers some days?

"You can message or tweet him from there, I don't really think we should be giving out his number; even to someone who was his friend in the past, not with everything that’s happened to him. I’m sure you can understand that."

Lydia nodded in agreement with Allison’s assessment and decision while Heather scuffed her foot again nodding, "I should go. Will you tell him that I am really sorry, I would never do anything to hurt him. I care about him a lot."

Allison nodded and watched as she wandered back out into the backyard and grabbed her friend, whispering under their breath as they walked away. Allison stayed quiet even as Lydia stepped over to her and leaned her hip softly into Allison’s side. She nestled a little into the physical connection while the interlopers walked and talked away from them (she couldn't help feeling like that about them) and she listened. 

“So, what happened?” the friend, a black girl, asked.

“He had a panic attack and they took him home. Apparently, he’s safe and I’m supposed to wait for him to call me. I was friends with him like forever ago, _before Scott and Stiles were ‘ScottandStiles’_ , and I can’t be trusted. Ugh! Like what do they think I’m going to do to him!”

The friend patted Heather on the shoulder, “You’ll get another chance to hang with him I’m sure. Just be patient, he’s been through hell. I’m guessing his friends and parents have a good reason for being cautious.”

Allison frowned; the friend didn’t even know about Stiles’s mom being dead, or maybe it was just a slip of the tongue. Most teenagers didn’t have dead parents to think about.

“Are they saying anything suspicious?” Lydia asked as she checked her cuticles.

Allison shook her head, “Not really. I know she says she wants to be friends again and she cares about him which is easy to tell and she still kind of makes me want to growl. Plus, she smells like a bitch in heat.”

Lydia looked at her, eyebrow raised at Allison turn of phrase.

“ _What?_ That’s what she smells like.”

Lydia snickered then walked away to make sure Jackson wasn’t going to have sex with anyone in her bed. Apparently, it wouldn’t be out of the norm and despite Jackson’s personal growth, he was still a dog who loved getting sexed at parties. In the past that had more than most times been Lydia but who knows about now.

Allison wondered if this was a horrible idea after all. The lacrosse players were making eyes at Erica and a couple of cheerleaders were talking up Isaac who was a shy mess but seemed to be stringing words together in a charming kind of way. Would it really be a good idea for any of them to get involved with anyone outside the pack?

Plus, all she could think of was all the lies Scott told her through every part of their relationship. They were destined to lie to anyone who was getting involved with any of the pack members. Derek talked to them about it a lot, not because he didn’t think they should have lives, friends and love interests outside the pack but because sometimes people learning what they are ended in madness, pain and death. They all knew about Paige and scented the old devastation that Derek still felt whenever he talked about her.

Allison watched as Lydia walked around doing her hostess with the most-est thing and smiled a little thinking about all the things they had talked about before the full moon, enjoying the thought of positive things to come.

Maybe it was time to follow through on some of them.

The party went on as long as the wine coolers lasted then everyone started filtering out, leaving the pack and a few dedicated stragglers; which included the twins and a dark-haired girl who looked oddly familiar but didn’t smell familiar at all. Allison watched them curiously and not trying to be subtle about it at all. She was getting better with her nose and she thought maybe they were all werewolves (the girl definitely was) but the twins’ scent was wonky, like it was shielded or wrong somehow. It wasn’t like what she’d experienced with all the werewolves she’d met in the past and she didn’t understand why they were different.

She also wondered what the hell they were doing there.

Allison walked over to them, fingertips running over the hilt of the dagger that was tucked into the holster at her thigh. The blade was silver, dipped with wolfsbane and held in a full sheath to keep it away from her susceptible skin because no matter if it was wolf or man a knife was always a good weapon and she was good with it. Plus, less claws made for less problems for Papa Stilinski and the law.

“Hey there, what were your names again?” she asked, cheerful and curious. She had enough training with her father that she could make her emotional scents do what she wanted them to do with a little work but if they were wolves then they already knew she was too. She couldn’t hide _that._

“Hey, I’m Aiden and this is my brother Ethan. This is Cora.”

Allison looked between the two of them, Ethan and Aiden looked so similar that Allison couldn’t find a way to tell them apart. Then Aiden looked Allison up and down while Ethan was looking over at Danny with interest and she smiled. Maybe there was a little something that she could use to tell them apart. Allison wouldn’t say she had anything like gaydar like Danny or Lydia prescribed to having but Aiden was fairly obvious with his leering. She waved at Cora and the twins while making this quick observation.

Aiden leaned closer and whispered next to her ear, “You smell like a wolf but you are carrying silver and smell like a hunter, why is that?”

Allison pulled away and grinned at him, surprised that they were willing to come out and say it but still maintaining the sweet tone even as she felt the ripple across her bonds with the others who were listening a little more closely now. “Why are you here?”

Aiden shrugged, “Figured this would be a good way to say we are in town without coming to the den of your alpha.”

Allison’s eyes narrowed at the statement mostly because somehow, they had known to come to this house and this party on a Friday night in Beacon Hills to find Hale werewolves, “And why are you visiting Beacon Hills?”

“We are considering joining the ranks of your high school but wanted to check your pack out before we did so. We’ve been hearing some things about the Hale Alpha coming into power and building a pack here. Wanted to see what that was about. I mean, the Hales were all dead so this was something we just had to see for ourselves.”

Allison shrugged, “Doesn’t explain why you would care.”

“We’re omegas,” Ethan said, joining the conversation for the first time and Allison looked at them. Nothing about them made her think that they were omegas, they were strong and healthy. There was no pallor like omegas were known to have, since they struggle to survive without a pack. These young men were fit, muscle bound and strong. She could feel in her bones how strong they were, like an echo. A warning.

Allison uncrossed and crossed her arms again before she could halt the nervous gesture, “I think maybe you should go. The party is coming to a close and you owe Alpha Hale a visit in a more daytime sort of time. You owe him the courtesy of _not_ seeking out his betas when he isn’t here himself.”

Aiden just grinned at her, nonchalant in the face of her command while Ethan pulled Cora away and called after his brother.

“It was nice meeting you, Allison. Allison Argent, right?” Aiden asked before they left the backyard and Allison attempted to shake off her discomfort.

She didn’t say her name but enough people had called out to her so they would have known her first name but not her last.

Lydia, Isaac, Erica and Danny all walked over with Jackson suddenly nowhere to be seen. They watched her but Isaac spoke, “They seemed nice though passively threatening and definitely werewolves.”

Allison nodded, “Yeah he admitted it. We should tell Derek and see what he says about it.” they all agreed readily and set about cleaning up the mess left by all the people that came over.

Lydia was cleaning in the kitchen when Allison came in to dump a bunch of cans and bottles in the recycling and turned to Lydia thinking about the hope and promise she had been thinking about before, “You wanna go on a date on Sunday with me?”

Lydia paused and turned towards her, “Huh?” she asked, eyes looking disarmingly glazed and less than her usual poise present.

Allison smiled, “I know we talked about it before and we wanted to wait a minute while we were dealing with Jackson’s ‘skin condition’ thing. That’s over now and everyone on our team is still alive so I am asking, do you want to go out with me? On a date?”

Lydia’s hands shook just a little bit as she kept her eyes on Allison. Lydia kept her gaze on Allison’s for a moment then allowed her eyes to wander over Allison’s outfit that they picked together using Facetime earlier and Allison preened a little under her gaze.

Lydia’s scent infused with anticipation and just a hint of lust and what could only be described as light and wonder even though that didn’t really make any sense. She whispered, “Yes, I would love to go out with you. Will you pick the place and everything? I’m not really good at the taking charge of dates thing. Except for watching ‘The Notebook’ and fooling around in bed. Though I think I could be willing to learn with you.”

Allison smiled, “Yeah, I will think of something.”

They continued to clean in companionable silence then stopped when their phones jangled in unison which echoed all over the house and the backyard where the other pack members were helping Lydia clean up.

Derek had sent a text, _‘Stiles is ok. Sleeping. Training & pack time tomorrow. Be at Stilinski res @ 11.’ _

Lydia and Allison both read it off of Allison’s phone and took a sigh of relief knowing that Stiles was okay. Training and pack time weren’t a surprise, it would give them all a chance to talk to Derek about the Heather thing as well as the werewolves that decided to politely crash the party.

For now, everyone was heading home to sleep. Allison took Erica and Isaac home as Danny climbed into his car and Lydia headed to bed.

Allison dropped Erica off first, her parents meeting her in the front doorway to check her over and make sure that swimming hadn’t caused any problems after the fact. Erica rolled her eyes at their overprotectiveness even as she nuzzled into their arms, waving Allison and Isaac off as they went inside. Allison drove off with a wave, heading towards the McCall house with Isaac.

“How is Scott doing?” she asked.

Isaac shrugged, “He’s been kind of distant, only talking to his mom which is fine and I can hear the conversation and he’s still angry and hates himself and Derek and Stiles. I don’t know what he’s doing there, just that there is no way they are going to bring him home when he is still so hateful. I really hope he can work through this because I really miss my friend. The pack is great but Scott was the best.”

Allison nodded not missing the utter adoration on Isaac’s face which she completely understood, she missed Scott too. Allison loved Scott.

Though she didn’t miss the omega that had been constantly lashing out and hurting all of the people who cared about him. She missed the guy that took her out on her birthday and made sure she had something good to talk about. She knew that Stiles and Isaac missed him too and Ms. McCall was probably anxious all the time about him not being in Beacon Hills even though she had Isaac to help bide her time with but it wasn’t the same. Then again, she wasn’t his father either.

“He’ll work through it Isaac, and he’ll come back better than ever,” Allison responded.

Isaac tilted his head, staring at her, “You really believe that.” It wasn’t a question.

“Of course, I do,” Allison said with a smile, “Whether or not I could ever date him again or even really be close to him; Scott was important to me and that hasn’t changed.”

“Even though he killed your aunt,” Isaac put in and Allison flinched a little and looked around like someone was suddenly going to pop up with a video camera or something. Protecting that secret was going to keep Scott out of trouble and all the werewolves out of the spotlight, she couldn’t help the feeling of eyes on her even as she spoke.

“He killed her because she was going to kill Stiles. Kate did horrid things and I miss the person she was to me when I was younger but what he did was defense and I don’t blame him. Same way I don’t blame the cop for killing my paternal grandfather AKA Gerard because he was going to kill everyone in the hospital that was remotely connected to Derek including Lydia if he’d gotten the chance. I mean I didn’t really have a relationship with him like I did with Kate but it’s the same idea. I couldn’t have lived with knowing that Lydia and everyone else died because of his hatred. People do things and I can have complex feelings.”

Isaac nodded, “I just… he was my only friend for a long time, like since Matt and look how those things went. I don’t really know what I’m doing in the pack but its nice not being locked in a freezer twice a week and being beaten a couple more times a week. It’s nice knowing that I am strong enough to fight back now but I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I also don’t really like the waiting for Derek or the others to decide that my ties to Scott will end up getting me excluded from the pack as well”

Allison pulled up in front of the McCall house just as Melissa opened the door and waited for them with a smile. Allison put the car in park and took one of Isaac’s hands, “I know that this is difficult for all of us but just let someone in, just a little. Okay? Just try? Okay? None of us are going to kick you out of the pack, least of all Derek. He didn’t even really want to exclude Scott, but he felt like he had no choice. And Papa Stilinski wasn’t going to let Scott come anywhere near Stiles without some changes because he led Kate to being in the backyard and Stiles being shot. Just try, okay?”

Isaac nodded, squeezing Allison’s hand then getting out. Melissa held an arm out when he got close enough and she waved Allison off as she hugged Isaac. It was sweet. Isaac was lucky to have her; they all were.

They were lucky to have Papa Stilinski too. Allison was lucky that her father still loved her after being turned and he was willing to deal with his own ignorant and hateful behavior. Her mom was different, at least they had Melissa around to share a little bit of mom energy with all of them.

Allison made it home ten minutes later and her dad was sitting in the study and Allison could hear that her mother was already in bed. She walked over to the door, “I’m back.”

Dad looked up and smiled a little, “Did you have fun?”

Allison nodded, “I am going to Stiles’s house tomorrow and I have a date on Sunday.”

Chris put his pen down on the map he was looking at and took a deep breath, “Honey, listen, I spoke to Derek and Sheriff Stilinski a couple days ago about training some of the pack other methods of self defense so you don’t have to depend on your claws and teeth. I think they are planning to start tomorrow. Are you ready for them to be here?”

Allison nodded, “Just keep Mom away from them.”

“Deal. She’s going to be out of town for most of the day anyway,” Dad said with a smile. Allison turned around and headed to bed. She made a note in her phone to tell Derek about the werewolf twins and the girl, just in case they got into pack snuggles and training and she forgot. It would wait until then.

She also sent a text to let Lydia know that she was home safe and got a smiley emoji in response before she turned off the ringer for the night and settled into her blankets. She used her meditation techniques, breathing in and out slowly while shutting off her senses so she could sleep.

Everything was different from when she was a human, this was just another one of those things.

 

Isaac walked into his room, not Scott’s room but the spare bedroom that Melissa made up for him when he was first turned and needed someplace to stay. He pulled the cellphone out of his dresser drawer and dialed a number, waiting for it to connect.

A couple seconds later the call picked up and a semi sleepy Scott said, “Hey how was the party?”

“Good, weird but good. I got a couple of numbers from some of the cheerleaders. I don’t know what they see in me now that they didn’t before I was Turned but whatever. Maybe I will call them, maybe I won’t.”

Scott chuckled then yawned, “Sorry man, I know that I told you to call me but it was a long day. Because of the recent Full Moon Alpha Ito has my working out and training like twice as long as she normally does. Trying to work through my anger and everything.”

“And are you? Working through it?”

“Yeah, some days are better than others but the last couple days I have been attacking anyone who even say Derek or Stiles’s name. It’s awful. I don’t understand why I am the only one dealing with this crap. You were turned and the others were turned after me and they aren’t struggling like this.”

“I don’t know, does Alpha Ito have any ideas?”

“She thinks, man, I don’t even know if I understand what it is she thinks. Alpha Ito and her researchers think that I essentially became an omega but was somehow able to stay healthy through magical means, though they don’t know an actual answer for that. Unhelpful! Anyway, because I basically became an omega my mental state started to break down and because of my long-standing friendship with Stiles it was like the tether so when he started befriending Derek and more it was like a mental break with the two of them at the center of all that hate. Apparently, that can happen to us, yippee. They are still making me talk about everything and I am speaking to several of the healers and therapists in the pack. She has a huge pack man; I don’t know if I can go back really and being here with so many that are like us is really helpful.”

Isaac took a deep breath, trying to ignore the clench in his stomach making him want to throw up a little. Scott didn’t need his anxiety and everything right now, “What about your mom though? And Stiles and everything you had here?”

“I know I can’t really stay here unless I discuss it with Mom and I kind of think it’s the coward’s way out of dealing with Derek and Stiles. I don’t want to lose any of my friends so I don’t think I am staying but it is an attractive idea.”

Isaac hummed as he started getting ready for bed, “You know Stiles’s birthday is next weekend. I think he’s getting the pack and some friends together, its too bad you won’t be able to come. Right?”

“Yeah,” Scott sighed, “Alpha Ito said there is no way she is letting me out of her sight figuratively until I stop splintering trees near the pack house every time someone asks me about Derek. She said that Kate, everything that happened, it was like a conclusion of all that anger and hate and if I want to survive to adulthood I have to let go of the anger. Apparently, that hasn’t happened yet.”

“Well maybe if you think of all the good times you and Stiles had, the times you and I had before it went to shit. Remember that you still have friends here who need and want you to come back. I know Stiles misses you,” the last was whispered into the phone.

Scott groaned and Isaac frowned because despite the good conversation, that was a sound of annoyance and not a returned affection. “I’m sure Derek is doing just fine filling all the holes I left behind in Stiles.”

Isaac blinked, “Dude?” he asked.

Scott groaned again and there was a rustling that sounded like fingers running through his hair and he spoke, “Sorry. I know. This is why I’m not allowed to go home. I don’t know how to behave like a good guy anymore for more than a couple minutes at a time. I should go, they make me write these stupid journal entries every time I say things like that, trying to see why I do and say what I am doing and saying.”

Isaac hummed then spoke, “Can I ask you one thing though?”

“Sure.”

“Are you sad about what you did to Stiles and Derek? Giving Argent information that inevitably led to Kate getting him in that backyard?”

“Of course, I do. Swear!” Scott replied. “I just… it’s almost like a triggered response. I hear about Derek in reference to Stiles or I think about them together and I just see red. I hate that he took Stiles away.”

“From what you told me and from what I have heard from Papa Stilinski and your mom and the Pack, Derek was never trying to take Stiles away and Stiles was trying to bring you two together. I’m not saying that Derek wasn’t a shit some of the time but you have _got_ to stop blaming Derek for all of this.”

“I know. Sorry man, I gotta go.”

“Keep at it bro,” Isaac responded and they both hung up. Isaac finished getting ready for bed and shut off the light, thinking of the mediation techniques Derek had been teaching them to help drown out the noise of the world outside his window. Derek wasn’t perfect and he wasn’t Scott but he was a good alpha and for now Isaac was going to keep hoping that would be enough.

**Author's Note:**

> I love comments, please if you feel you need to correct something at least add something you liked about the fic too.


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